A Living Lily
by writingblondie
Summary: James gave up his life because he loved his family. What if that meant that Lily lived? What if Harry was able to grow up with Sirius, Lily, Remus and the Weasleys? And what does Draco have to do with Harry's "new" life? How is Petunia's life changed? H/G, Du/?, Hr/R, AU, R&R!
1. Prologue

Hey Everyone! I'm back! I'm sorry I've been away for so long but between a few family issues and the fact that I was just in my school's musical, I really haven't had the time to write. I've had the idea for this story for a long time. Ever since I heard that James had died first I wondered why Lily wasn't protected by James' love like Harry was protected by hers. So, I created a senario (the details of which will be introduced later) in which that is exactly what happened, but Harry is still marked. I'm posting this now because the Draco story I was going to post wasn't up to my standards and I just didn't like the story as much as I used to.

Get ready for a LOOONG story guys. I'm going through all seven years of Harry's Hogwarts experience as well. I really hope you enjoy the story! My goal is to update once a week. I know I'll be able to stick to that during the summer and well most of the time but I may skip a week around AP exams and then again during regular exams. I already have a few chapters written. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

Summary: What if Lily survived but Harry still got protection? How would things have changed?

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><p>"Do it agian James! He loves it when you make those sparks!" Lily said happily as she watched her son's entertainment with James' wand. The sparks came out of the top quickly and Harry watched them, his eyes fixed upon the tip of James' wand. James and Lilly smiled at each other. Suddenly, the door burst open and James saw Voldemort.<p>

"LILY! TAKE HARRY AND RUN!" James shouted. Lily ran up the stairs to the nursery, hoping James could save himself somehow.

"Foolish man. Their going upstairs will do nothing. You can't protect them. I am Lord Voldemort." Tom riddle said as he drew his wand, aiming it at James Potter's chest.

"If I die tonight, I'll die protecting my family because I love them." James strongly resisted the urge to fight. He wasn't sure why but something was telling him to die peacefully.

Voldemort was quiet for a moment and then barked a laugh. He tilted his head slightly with an amused smile on his face and said to James, "Well well. I very much expected for you to put up a fight, James Potter; in fact I was told that the one thing I should worry about was your fighting skills. Are you trying to prevent your death? I'd be more than willing to spare your life if you join my followers!"

"Never. I'd rather die a painful death a thousand times over than ever give you my son or my wife by following you. Bastard." Voldemort's eyes flamed as he shouted,

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" and James Potter was dead.

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><p>Lily had been watching from a crack in the door.<p>

_He just… James is… _her already existing tears poured out of her eyes more furiously than before. Suddenly, Voldemort looked up at the door of the nursery. He grinned evilly as he stepped over her husband's dead body and began running up the stairs. She placed Harry in his crib thinking that if Voldemort decided to kill her he would at least be safe. She didn't want to drop him or have him more accessible to Voldemort. She slammed the door closed and stood in front of her son. The door knob began to turn as Lily waited, horrified. He seemed to be opening the door as slowly as he could, knowing that she was waiting in anticipation. Harry began to wail.

"Harry, don't cry. Be strong. Mummy loves you. Daddy loves you. Be strong, Harry." She whispered to him softly and began humming the tune of "Hush Little Baby", the lullaby her mother always hummed around the house when she was a child, in an attempt to quiet him. The door was fully opened now and Voldemort's eyes stared at her. A smirk grew as he pointed his wand at her and said, "Move, girl!" Lily shook her head furiously, unable to move away or respond to Voldemort. "_Reducto!_"

Lily was flung across the room, her head had been hit hard... but was she bleeding? She stopped thinking of herself though as Voldemort raised his wand to her son. She struggled to get up but she suddenly found herself extremely dizzy. Since she'd moved her head away from the wall, she felt a warm liquid trickling down the back of her neck. The blood barely registered as she tried crawling to her son while Voldemort said the words, "_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" and a green light reached her son. She screamed as the light seemed to rebound off of her wailing son and hit Voldemort. Voldemort disappeared and suddenly his cloaks fell to the floor, empty. A small opaque clump of air hit her son as a larger ball of opaque air flew out of the window. Lily attempted to stand but found herself unable to get up. She remembered that her wand was in her bedroom. She cried silently as she did her best to re-start the song she'd been humming in order to stop Harry's cry and calm herself. Aware that she was too weak to get up, she knew that she needed to stay awake. She could hear Harry's cries and that gave her the need to live.

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><p>She didn't know how long it had been. All she knew was that after some time had passed she heard the door open and slam.<p>

"JAMES! LILY! HARRY!_" _She heard shouts of terror from the door. _Sirius_.

"JAMES! NO!" He'd found James. She tried to stop listening to Sirius's cries as Harry's wails intensified, trying to get attention.

Sirius didn't come up for at least another minute. She had her eyes closed and she didn't think she'd be able to open them any time soon. Harry was quiet for a minute. It gave her the ability to hear Sirius's footsteps for a moment. Unfortunately, Harry heard them as well.

"Lily?" Sirius's quiet, shaking voice was barely heard over Harry's wrenching sobs. He ran to Harry first and when his godson's eyes landed on him, Harry's cries diminished greatly. She could hear Sirius's small steps as he moved to stand next to her. He crouched down. "No, Lily, please. Not you too. Please, no."

Lily moved her hand, trying to find Sirius. "Sirius. Sirius my head." Her voice was so low Sirius had to place his ear next to her mouth.

"Thank God you're alive, I'll get you to St. Mungo's immediately. Harry too…"

Lily faded in and out after that. Harry was going to be safe. She thought she heard Hagrid's voice as she finally passed out for good.

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><p>She woke in a hospital room, presumably at St. Mungo's. Her head still hurt terribly. She could hear two voices in the background.<p>

_Why am I in the hospital? And where's James?_

"James." She said groggily, trying to find him.

The two background voices stopped. "Lills?" Remus's voice called.

"Remus, where's James? What's going on?" She struggled as she tried to find them in the room. Remus and Dumbledore were in the two chairs beside her bed. Harry was in Remus's arms. "Professor? Why are you here without James or Sirius?" Remus's eyes looked pained as Dumbledore looked gravely at her.

"Lily, do you remember anything from last night?" Dumbledore asked. The healers weren't sure if her head injury had caused brain damage or not.  
>A few horrible memories came flooding back to her, but somehow she felt like there were a few things missing from her memory. Suddenly she remembered something terrible. Something that just couldn't be true. "Is James really… is he dead?"<p>

Dumbledore nodded his head solemnly as Lily burst into tears. "Lily, he died to protect you and Harry. Of course, unless you tell us what happened that night we're only speculating. From what I understand, if he hadn't died protecting you, well, the consequences would have been terrible. Both you and Harry would have died. His love protected you." She was quiet. She could feel the different potions affecting her brain. She didn't understand. "I'll explain more when you're well."

Lily nodded her head in silence. She motioned for Remus to give her Harry. A thought popped into her head. "Dumbledore? Where's Sirius? He told me he'd bring me here. So where is he?" It was one of the few things she could remember.

Dumbledore looked at Remus. Remus answered instead. "Lily, he's in Azkaban. As your secret keeper, he must have sold you to Voldemort, in other words, he's a Death Eater, Lily. I know this must be so hard for you…"

Lily's eyes fumed after he'd said Sirius was in Azkaban. Her fury was boiling. "GET HIM OUT OF THERE! DID HE EVEN GET A TRIAL IF HE'S IN THERE SO SOON? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? DO YOU NOT TRUST HIM THAT MUCH? YOU BLOODY MORONS!" Lily's anger foamed as Harry awoke, wailing, stopping her screams. Remus and Dumbledore had shrunken in their seats. Both were trembling. "You idiots." She said as she tried to calm the screaming child. "James would be so disappointed in you, Remus. And Albus, no trial? You didn't question him at all? Sirius was not our Secret keeper." Remus looked shocked. "Sirius thought he was the obvious choice. He didn't trust you though, Remus, nice to know the feeling was at least mutual, so he came up with another pick. He'd act like he was still our secret keeper so that if Voldemort ever found him he couldn't get any information out of him. And that way he'd die knowing we were safe." Remus and Dumbledore looked dumbfounded. "So we switched secret keepers. I guess that was the biggest mistake of our lives. Sirius Black was not our secret keeper. Peter Pettigrew was."

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><p>Sirius stared solemnly at the blank wall in his bleak cell. He was innocent. Lily would wake up and prove it. She had to. It had been over a day and a half and there was no sign of anyone giving him a trial or pardoning him. <em>Nothing<em>. He didn't want to believe that Lily was dead. She couldn't be. Harry and she were all he had left of James. James. Prongs. His brother. The man he'd grown up with and loved so dearly. Though he would never admit it. Of course, now he regretted it. It was nothing more than brotherly love, but it was love nonetheless.

A screech could be heard from his cell. Not just any screech, but one he knew all too well. It was his _lovely_ cousin Bellatrix. Sirius snorted. _Finally that bitch is where she belongs, _he thought ironically as he stood up and stared at the bars enclosing him. _I wonder how they finally got her. I've been on the search for her for years… too damn bad I couldn't be the one to catch the bitch._ The unattractive and quite annoying screech came closer and closer. The screech turned into a laugh as Bellatrix was carried past his own cell and they stared each other down.

"What the 'ell is the blood traitor doing here?" She laughed at the Ministry's stupidity. Sirius could see it in her eyes that she was truly wondering how they could frame him. She started to fight the guards and attempted to stare down Sirius longer.

"I'd ask the same but we both know why you're here." Sirius replied, his voice harsher than he'd expected it to be.

"True." She continued to fight the guards as she looked at him oddly. "Who knew I'd ever find you here." She laughed crazily again as she let herself be carried off by the guards. Sirius watched them carry her off until they were out of his sight.

He was innocent. He knew it. Bloody hell, even Bellatrix knew it. He was going to get out soon. And if he didn't, he'd turn into his dog form (the dementors are only to look for humans right?), get out of Azkaban, and search for Peter Pettigrew until the traitor was dead. The image of that rat running free made him sick.

The footsteps of another guard came nearer as Sirius straightened up. He sat back down on the lumpy bed and continued to stare at the wall, not wanting to look desperate. He listened closely to the footsteps as they came nearer and stopped in front of his cell. He heard the cell door being opened. "Sirius Black, I've come to release you. You've been pardoned by the Minister of Magic." It was Kingsley Shacklebolt, his fellow Auror.

"It's about bloody time." Sirius said as he grinned. _I've got to get to Lily and Harry._

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><p>Sirius ran into the hospital room. Lily was asleep but Remus was in the corner, feeding Harry. He hadn't had a real talk with Remus for at least four months. The animosity between the two had increased when, as he realized in the day he spent at Azkaban, Peter tried to separate them in an attempt to assure his position as secret keeper. He wanted nothing more than to re-kindle his brothership with his friend. Remus hadn't noticed Sirius in the doorway so Sirius cleared his throat. Remus's head snapped up.<p>

"Well. I guess this would be the best time to have this conversation. Since Lily's asleep." Sirius said, whispering as loudly as he could.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry, I just assumed…"

"You assumed I was their Secret Keeper. That's how I wanted it to be perceived. That's how the plan was supposed to work. I don't blame you whatsoever. I know I thought you were the traitor but as I thought more about it while I was at Azkaban, I realized that Peter fed me ideas against you. I'm so sorry, Remus."

"I'm sorry as well. Peter did the same to me. I actually thought that you were following your family heritage. How easily manipulated we were." Remus said, as if a bad taste resided in his mouth.

"I know. It was war. There was a traitor. What else were we going to do? Let's put that behind us and concentrate on what's going on now. How is she?" They both turned their heads and looked at Lily's sleeping body.

"Well, from what we've gathered from her, she was hit by a Reductor curse from Voldemort, but it didn't cut her it just threw her against the wall. When she hit the wall she hit the back of her head. They're currently re-growing some of the bones in her skull and the skin and hair. We're just lucky nothing penetrated her brain. You know how hard it is to reconstruct brain tissue." Sirius sighed in relief. She was going to be okay. "Unfortunately she seems to have lost a few memories of that night."

"That's not good but at least she'll be okay. And what about Harry? It was so dark in that room I didn't see anything wrong with him. I was in a hurry to get to Lily though."

"Come take a look for yourself." Remus said quietly. Sirius crossed the room to get to the baby in Remus's arms. He looked at the baby's face and suddenly noticed a giant lightning-shaped scar on his forehead that flamed red.

"What… how…" Sirius was so confused. How does one get a lightning bolt-shaped scar on their forehead?

"Albus believes that James' sacrifice for his family prevented them from being hurt from Voldemort's curses. The Reducto just threw Lily back, and when Voldemort tried to kill Harry it bounced off of Harry causing Voldemort's death. Everyone in the magical community is holding Harry to be a hero. The "Boy-Who-Lived" to be exact. Harry is famous. He's so famous that there are people who are already trying to buy the trademark of his _name_. I don't know how Lily and Harry will ever be able to live a normal life."

Both men were quiet for a long time, each lost in their thoughts. "We'll figure something out. I know it."

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><p>I know this is a little choppy but I'm really excited about this story. The story will go more smoothly as I get into it but I really wanted to get everything into this so that you guys could have as much information as possible.<p>

Please review!

Thanks for reading!


	2. Before Hogwarts: A New Home

Hey everyone! Welcome back or just welcome to the fic in general :D

There were three things i wanted to say before i let you read :D

1. this is a warning to anyone who likes fanfics where either Sirius or Snape replace James as Harry's father. Harry will not be calling Sirius (or Snape for that matter when he does come into the story) dad. I really hate to damper the mood but someone sent me a pm asking me if this was going to be one of those fics. it won't be.

2. I totally forgot to mention my beta in my last chapter! A big shout-out to Stephanie O for being such a great beta! You're so awesome!

3. I just edited something in this chapter, so if you got the alert, i'm sorry but this isn't new!

And with that, please enjoy :D this is much less choppy than the last chapter. we really begin to get into the story with the next one aha sorry about that! this chapter's also a bit sad but i promise the next one will be happier!

Disclaimer: i do not own Harry Potter

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><p>"Well, it's not much. But we can make it home."Sirius said to Lily as they walked into the door of their newly purchased Muggle home. They'd agreed to live a low life and stay inside of the house most of the time for Harry's safety as well as Harry, Lily, and Sirius's new fame made it hard to live in the Wizarding World. Lily and Sirius didn't want Harry to grow up in such a toxic society for him. Lily remembered her first encounter with wizards since Halloween. She had tried to go to Gringotts with Harry to pull out money for their new home. It seemed that everyone at Diagon Ally swarmed the two of them trying to get a glimpse of him. She didn't want Harry to grow up with that.<p>

Sirius was having some difficulty with the idea of living with muggles. Not that he hated them or anything, but the adjustments he had to make in his life were unusual to him. They were only going to use magic at home, no Quittich outside anywhere near their house, no brooms in general, and no apparating whatsoever outside. They needed to blend in and maybe mingle with muggle society but they had no problem with being the "weird" people at the end of the street.

The house they'd chosen was in village of Ottery St. Catchpole. The Weasleys (Arthur was a friend of the Potters from the ministry) lived close by as well as the Diggorys and the Lovegoods. The house they had chosen had a beautiful garden and was styled to look like a cottage. It was a four bedroom house with a library that was perfect for Lily's incessant search for new information. The house was quite nice and they liked the fact that the Weasleys lived close by. Harry could have some socialization with children like him that way.

"It's beautiful." Lily said to Sirius. "I would like to stop by our old house soon though and grab a few things we had to leave behind in the chaos. It just gets too much attention right now. Maybe in a few years we can move back in if we fix up Harry's room. I want him to know he's a Potter, even if James isn't here to tell him." She sighed as they stood in the parlor room of the new house. _I just hope this doesn't last forever._

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><p>They'd been settled into the new house for two days now. The date was November tenth. Sirius and Lily were discussing if Lily should get a part-time muggle job while they were living there. She didn't want to sit around the house all day. James and Lily had put Harry in wizard daycare while they were working every day. Lily had loved her job as an unspeakable but she just couldn't be a part of wizarding society any more. She hated the fame.<p>

"I mean, our only problem is what to do with Harry during the day. It'd only be a period of about five hours since it would be a part-time job but it's still five hours that we just can't leave Harry alone for."

"I know but there's no day care here. Most mothers are stay at homes."

Their conversation was interrupted as they heard a knocking coming from the door. Lily got up to open it. She found a rosy cheeked Molly Weasley with a tray of what appeared to be brownies.

"Hello Lily! I know you moved in two days ago but I wanted to give you some time to move in. I brought you brownies as a house warming gift! Can I come in?"

"Of course! Come in, come in!" Lily smiled as she took the tray of brownies to the kitchen. Sirius greeted Molly warmly. He hadn't been as good of friends with Arthur as James was but they were still acquaintances so he'd met Molly before. Molly saw Harry and immediately rushed to pick him up. She loved children and Lily thought it was just adorable.

"He's so cute!" Harry giggled as Molly cooed. Molly talked with Lily and Sirius for a while until Harry fell asleep in her arms. "Lily, Sirius, there was another reason why I came over. I wanted to offer you anything that Arthur or I could do for you. I know this time has to be hard for you and we'd like to do anything we can. If you need anything just ask, really. Like if you needed someone to watch Harry, or clean while you were at work. I'd be more than willing," Molly said with a kind smile.

Lily and Sirius looked at each other. "That's very kind of you Molly. We really appreciate that. In fact," Sirius said, "Lily and I were just trying to figure out a problem that you just might be able to solve. Lily really wants to get a muggle job. She loves working but she doesn't want to leave Harry alone. Would you mind? We'd be willing to watch…. Err… some of your kids every once in a while."

Lily elbowed Sirius in the side. "What he means is that we'd really appreciate it if you took care of Harry while Sirius and I were at work. I'd get a part time job so it wouldn't be all day every day but more like for a few hours every other day. I just don't think I'd be able to sit at home all day with Harry. I'd probably go crazy." Lily smiled sweetly.

"Oh I'd love to! It'd be no problem. It might give Ron someone to play with. The twins are just too hyper all the time and are spending time with each other and Ginny is only a few months old so much of my attention goes to her. And don't worry, I'll talk to the older kids who know who he is. No one will be judging him for what happened on Halloween." Molly gave the two young adults her motherly smile.

"That'd be great Molly. Thank you so much." Lily took Harry from Molly and kissed his still inflamed scab on his forehead. "Would you like a tour of the house? You know, before Sirius messes it up?"

Molly laughed. "Boys. What will we do. I'd love a tour."

"Hey. You do know I'm right here." Sirius pouted and announced that he was going to Diagon Ally to pick up a new set of Robes for work. Sirius had decided to keep his Auror job mainly because he was much less famous than the other two and he loved his job. The plan was to pretend that he wasn't living with them so that most questions would be avoided. Lily wanted her and Harry to seem to have 'fallen off of the face of the earth'. She simply wanted no part in the tabloids.

"Dinner's at five. And visit Remus while you're gone. See if his mind has changed."

Sirius nodded his head and said goodbye to Lily, Harry, and Molly. He left the house and apparated to Remus' cottage first. This could take a while.

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><p>Remus sat alone at his cottage, reading another book. He'd isolated himself from his friends since his return from the hospital. <em>James would be so disappointed in you<em> kept repeating in his head. He didn't deserve his friends. He couldn't even trust them. Of course he was set up by Peter but he should have trusted his instincts. Sirius was good and he'd tried to get him a life term in Azkaban. He felt horrible. Lily had asked him to move in with them but he couldn't do so knowing that he was a terrible friend not to mention a danger to her baby.

The door knocked and Remus made no move to open it. After five minutes of furious pounding, the visitor gave up and unlocked the door magically. Remus continued to read. _What kind of rude asshole lets himself in…_ "Remus? I know you're here. Don't try acting like you're not." Sirius's voice rang through his cottage.

"Sirius? I told you I didn't want visitors." Of course, he had been expecting for Sirius to ignore his request. It _was_ Sirius after all.

"So? What's your point? I came to talk and talk is what we'll do." Remus suddenly found himself without his book. He now unfortunately had no choice but to look up at Sirius. "Well. I'm waiting for an answer."Sirius continued impatiently.

Remus sighed. He didn't want to have to say it again. He'd already explained it once in a letter. Of course, he'd gotten a howler in response but that didn't matter to him. He'd just let the screams be background noise as he continued to read the book he had been reading at the time. "Sirius, you are aware of my position on this. It is not safe for me to be living in that house with a baby. God knows what might happen if I get loose while I'm transformed and you two can't stop me. Maybe I'll move in when he's older but I just can't let myself live there right now. I promise I'll be over often but right now I'm planning on getting a muggle job and hiding. If the world finds out that the boy-who-lived and his mother were living with a werewolf… I just don't think you understand the consequences of that, Sirius. None of you ever will. If I'm discovered living with you I'd get blamed for bad intentions towards a child. It's wizarding law since he isn't my own child. I could get put in Azkaban. Azkaban does not treat werewolves nicely. Sirius the press _will _find you and when they do… it's best for all of us that I'm not there."

Sirius was silent. Remus had left out the part where he could go to Azkaban in his letters in addition to the way the world would react to Remus's presence in his house. He and Lily had forgotten about the Anti-Werewolf Child-Protection Law of 1811. Remus couldn't live with them. Sirius sighed deeply, regretting trying to make Remus move in with them so fervently and pushing a subject that obviously hurt Remus. "Well Remus, I don't know what to say. Just know that you'll always be welcome at the house. They can't get you for spending the day. We'd love your company. And you know we love you to death. I mean, _Harry_ just lost his father. Don't make him lose an Uncle as well." Remus smiled since he could tell that the conversation wasn't really about Harry anymore but he continued the conversation as if it were.

"How is Harry by the way?"

"Well, most people would assume that he'd stay the same, I mean, after all he is only a year and a few months old. But he hasn't. His demeanor has slowly been getting increasingly sadder. I mean, I think the kid is finally starting to get that he won't see his dad again. It's really sad Remus. Every time he sees Lily crying he crawls to her or tries to get to her and cries as well and says "Da" or "Prons". It hurts to watch. When I went outside to clean the driveway from snow the muggle way for appearances, Harry was saying 'Dada! Dada!' since that used to be James's job and I guess he just assumed it was him."

Remus was quiet for a while, absorbing the information. "And Lily? How's she coping?"

"Well, better than I ever expected her to be. I can tell that she misses James so much but I just don't know what to tell her. I think half the reason why she keeps trying to get you to come live with us is because you understand her so much better than I do. I never really understood girls, Moony. I mean, you're not that much better but you were friends with Lily two years before I was and in those developmental years… I guess it really counts. So if you can't live with us, can you spend some time at the house? I mean Lily really needs someone who understands her. Not only that but she needs a job. She needs something to do every day that doesn't revolve around Harry. I get the feeling that she's slipping into depression and without something to distract her that _doesn't_ look like James, I fear it will be really bad. She needs something to keep her busy. Now she's giving Molly a tour of the house and Molly offered to watch him while she's at work. I know that Lily only wants a part-time job so she can spend time with Harry but I think she needs a full-time one. How to tell her that without mentioning the fear of depression part is what I'm trying to figure out."

Remus wasn't shocked. First over the fact that it was Sirius who was being the responsible and perceptive one. Once he got over that he realized that in past times of tension, Lily was always the one that was working or cleaning or studying or doing _something._ There was no way that anyone could ever make her calm down. That's what makes Lily, _Lily_ though. Without her workaholicness she just wasn't herself. Now that James was dead, she probably felt like she had to fulfill the space of two parents in Harry's life. But she needed to realize that Harry had Sirius and himself as well. She wasn't alone. Sirius didn't get that though. He just realized that she was going into depression (which, in itself, was quite impressive since he was usually the least observant of them all). Remus knew Lily. And right now, Lily was compensating her happiness when she should know that Harry will be happy regardless.

"Why don't we get to the house then? I have a feeling that Lily and I are going to have a nice _long_ chat." Sirius beamed.

"Sorry Remus, I'll tell you the address since you don't know where it is but I need to go to Gringotts. And you need to use the floo since apparition is too loud and some muggle is too likely to hear."

"Alright Sirius." Sirius then told him the address and went to the door. He heard Remus leave and wished him luck mentally knowing that Lily was most likely waiting to ambush him.

He stood on the steps of the cottage finally getting the chance to think of what had happened in the last few days. It seemed that everything was going wrong compared to where he thought he'd be. He was now responsible for a child, living in a family environment, and famous for being released from Azkaban because he had no trial. Speaking of which, somehow Fudge managed to keep his job but the entire British Wizarding community knew that what Fudge had done was illegal. He was on edge with everyone.

Sirius sighed once more as he apparated to Diagon Alley, wanting nothing more than to be able to go back in time.

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><p>Lily sat on the couch in the living room watching her son play with a set of blocks on the floor. She was beaming as Harry managed to make a block that he couldn't find float behind him and hit him in the back gently. She laughed as Harry turned around, confused as to what had hit him. Any concerns that the child had had were gone since he had found the block sitting directly behind his butt. Lily found it to be the most adorable thing ever. Suddenly she heard the fireplace begin to crackle. She held her breath and hoped that it was Remus.<p>

A body flung out of the fireplace and began coughing. "Lily?" Remus said. Lily laughed at the ashy ball calling for her and picked up a very confused Harry.

"Remus! I'm glad to see you!" Lily grabbed her wand off of the side table. "Here let me help you, _scourgify!_" The ashy ball immediately turned into a clean Remus.

"Thank you Lily," Remus said as he stood straighter.

"MOOEY!" Harry shouted as he was now able to see Remus's face. Remus smiled at the child and turned to Lily, explaining to her everything he had explained to Sirius.

"Remus you know that I don't care if you're a werewolf or not, but I don't want you to go to Azkaban. I'm sorry we tried to push you into this Remus but we love you and I sincerely hope that you can remain a constant influence in Harry's childhood. I need someone to balance out Sirius!" she said as she tried to smile and make the situation better.

"Oh Lily. Good luck with that." The two laughed until Harry hiccupped. They began to laugh again and Lily realized that she might just be able to live with the hand she had been dealt in life.

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><p>Thanks for reading everyone, please review! I appreciate it!<p> 


	3. Before Hogwarts: The Malfoys

Wow. I just want to thank EVERYONE who's reviewed! I really appreciate it! I really hope you like this chapter, I want to know what you guys think! This is four years later so Harry is five, almost six.

Thanks to my beta Stephanie O. Sorry that you have to put up with all of my comma issues :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

Enjoy!

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><p>Four years later – April 1985<p>

For four years now, Harry's mother Lily Potter worked every day from nine to three and left her son Harry under Molly Weasley's care. Lily would then pick up Harry at about three thirty and go home to prepare a meal to feed Sirius, Remus, and the Weasley household. It was what she did in return for their care for Harry.

Every day Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and now sometimes Ginny would come up with adventures and games to play. They usually included pranks and dares but that was what made the games fun. Every once in a while Harry was able to coerce Percy out of his room. Today though, Harry's attempt had failed and the twins had dared Harry and Ron to steal a broom from the broom cupboard. No one was allowed in the broom cupboard except for Bill and Charlie, who were currently at Hogwarts. Once they had stolen the broom they were supposed to fly it. Whoever flew the broom first got the Honeydukes chocolate bar that Bill gave George and Fred for Christmas. To Harry and Ron, this seemed like the best dare ever.

Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, was horrified. "RONALD WEASLEY AND HARRY POTTER! DROP THAT NOW!" Mrs. Weasley shouted as she walked outside to find five year old Harry James Potter and 6 year old Ronald Bilius Weasley with their small hands tightly grasped around a broom. They were fighting over it to see who would "fly it first".

"But Mum…" Ron tried to explain to his mother that it was all Fred and George's fault but he never had the chance.

"NO BUTS. YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, RONALD WEASLEY! AND HARRY," Harry cringed, "JUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR MOTHER GETS HERE. NOW GET INSIDE, EAT, AND GO TO RON'S ROOM. YOU TWO ARE NOT TO LEAVE UNTIL LILY GETS HERE!"

Harry and Ron sighed but as soon as Mrs. Weasley turned around, they grinned at each other. It had most definitely been worth it since they loved the adventures that they made for themselves every day. Getting into the broom cupboard had been a daunting task and if they had just been a little faster, one of them could have been flying.

They followed Mrs. Weasley into the house and sat down at the table to eat their peanut butter sandwiches that were set out for them. They ate in silence as all the boys ate their food as quickly as they could. Ginny ate with just as much vigor. Just as Harry and Ron were about to leave and go to Ron's room, the door was slammed open and a very loud "HARRY!" could be heard rebounding through the house. Harry and Ron stopped where they were and turned to see who was now in the living room. "HARRY! HARRY WHERE ARE YOU?" Harry recognized the voice to be Sirius's so he ran over to him.

"Sirius!" Harry said as his Godfather picked him up. "Sirius why are you here?" Harry was confused since Sirius is usually at the Auror office at that time.

"She's dead! The wicked witch of the west is dead!" Sirius said twirling Harry around and making him giggle.

"Hello and of course you're welcome inside, Sirius." Mrs. Weasley said impatiently to her friend who had just barged into her house unannounced. "May I ask who the wicked witch of the west is?"

"It's a muggle movie reference. I associate her with my mother!" Sirius said joyfully. He stopped spinning Harry around and just held him as he turned to look at Molly. "While I was at work I received a post that I was now head of the House of Black. Of course I was when she was alive but now I have the entire Black estate as well. Because my mother is dead! So I took the rest of the day off, stopped at Gringotts, and am now planning on taking all of you to dinner tonight at a restaurant."

Harry sat in Sirius's arms quite confused. "Padfoot, why are you happy that your Mum died? I would be really sad." He said quietly.

Sirius stared at Harry. He put the boy down and got down to his knees. "Harry my mother wasn't like your mother. My mother hated me. By the time I was Bill's age she had told me I was no longer her son. My mother was an evil woman Harry, she never could accept me for who I was." Sirius was then no longer serious. "Speaking of mothers, Harry we should go pick up yours! Molly, can you meet at our house at five-ish?"

Molly sighed. She would never understand Sirius or why Lily put up with him. "Sure, Sirius. We'll meet you at Five o'clock. Arthur should be home by then."

Sirius smiled widely at her. "Okay Harry. Let's go!" he said as he picked Harry up and ran out of the door.

* * *

><p>The Three Broomsticks was somewhere that Harry only got to go on special occasions. Usually these were situations where Sirius got evidence or caught a bad guy since it was his favorite restaurant. All of the Weasleys, Moony, Aunt Andy and Ted, Tonks, his mother, and Padfoot were there. Harry smiled since he was sitting between his two best friends, Ron and Ginny. Padfoot told them and the twins jokes about his mother. He even made fun of her weird name, Walburga. "Who names their kid Walburga? God it's almost as bad as you Nymphy!" He said having already had three firewhiskeys that night.<p>

"See Sirius agrees with me mum! Why can't I just have everybody call me Tonks? It's not even a nickname! It's my real name! Just not my first name!" She pouted.

Charlie patted her on the back while laughing. "Thanks so much, Sirius." Andromeda said giving Sirius a glare. "You can't be called Tonks because it's improper! Your real name is Nymphadora. You should accept it and move on."

"Sorry Andy." Sirius said not actually sorry at all. "Oh look. There's your bastard of a brother-in-law and your oh so _lovely_ sister." His eyes were fixated on three blondes walking into the restaurant.

"_Lovely."_ Lily said under her breath.

The blondes came closer when Sirius made eye contact with the man and Aunt Andy made eye contact with the woman. All Harry could concentrate on was the boy who appeared to be their age trying to keep up with their long strides. The adults began to talk and their voices got louder. Harry got up from his chair.

"Harryy! What are you doing?" Ginny tugged on his shirt so he would look at her.

"I wanna ask him if he wants to play with us." Harry said while pointing at the boy who looked like the yelling that was happening in the adult's conversation was a normal occurrence.

"Oh, good idea Harry. I was starting to get bored making smiley faces out of ketchup." Ron said getting up from his chair as well. No one noticed the three missing children because they were all either watching their parents fight amongst themselves, watching Sirius attempt to keep up with any of the conversations, or watching them having a fake pleasant conversation with the boys' parents.

Harry was the leader of the trio. He walked up to the boy and said, "Hi. My name is Harry Potter. This is Ron and Ginny Weasley. What's your name?"

"Draco Malfoy." He said quietly, looking up to his father as if afraid he would find out he was talking to them.

"Do you want to play with us?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Are you really Harry Potter? Don't lie, please."

"Ya. I am. Why would I lie? Why do you ask?"

"My father talks about you a lot. That's all. I don't know why. Anyway ya we can play but we need to go away from my parents. They won't like it. They never like it when I play."

"How can you not play? Everyone needs to play!" Ginny piped up.

"I don't know." Draco suddenly felt extremely shy.

"Well we can go play by that table over there," Harry said as he pointed to a table close to the door with the picture of a boy on it, "that area looks relatively empty." They walked over to the table and got up on the chairs and sat down. They decided to play pretend. They were going to be important people who were discussing who got to keep the salt shaker and who got to keep the pepper shaker. They wanted to play tea but they couldn't since there were neither cups nor a pot.

"I have two knuts and a sickle in my pocket. I can buy both, right?"

"Draco! That's not the point of the game. We need to win the salt and pepper shakers. We can't just buy them! That's cheating!" Harry said to Draco who then began to blush furiously.

"My daddy does it all the time. I thought that's what you're supposed to do." Draco put the money back in his pockets, looking somewhat confused and extremely embarrassed.

"Draco Malfoy!" the four children heard a voice bellowing from where their parents were.

"That's my daddy." Draco said. "I have to go. It was really nice playing with you."

"You too! Draco, wait a second. Do you know how to write yet?" Draco shook his head. "I don't either. Maybe when we learn to write we can write to each other. My mum writes to this guy 'Snivellus' all the time. We could do that too! We can be writing friends!"

"Ya! I'd like to have a friend! I'll write to you as soon as I can!" Draco said eagerly. Harry smiled.

"DRACO MALFOY. WHERE ARE YOU?" The yell pierced their ears as they all went running back to their parents.

* * *

><p>Sirius knew he was only affecting their side of the argument negatively. Remus and Lily argued with Lucius that Albus Dumbledore was a good headmaster and Malfoy had no right to try to get rid of him. Narcissa was strangely quiet. She was staring at something so Sirius decided to follow her eyes. The alcohol made it somewhat hard (as he'd just had his fifth firewhiskey) but he managed all the same. What he saw stunned him. Little Malfoy was sitting at a table with Harry, Ginny and Ron. They looked like they were playing. He looked back at Narcissa to see her smiling. Eventually Lucius seemed to notice that his son was no longer by his side and Narcissa quickly looked away and looked around the room everywhere but there as if looking for him. He shouted for the boy to come but instead Little Malfoy stopped and had a conversation with Harry. They were both smiling and as dickface yelled again, Little Malfoy came. He ran to his father and began to get scolded. Harry and the other two went back into their chairs as the Malfoys went past them. Narcissa stopped to put her hand on his shoulder.<p>

"She's dead, you know." She whispered to him while managing to look extremely natural.

"I know. That's why we're here." He said quietly and felt the lightly placed hand slip from his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw Narcissa shaking her head lightly with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Draco, on the other hand, was looking at Harry while being scolded by his father. They seated themselves at the same table that he had just been playing at.

Sirius smiled to himself. Maybe Little Malfoy could break the Slytherin curse just like he had.

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><p>Narcissa couldn't help but smile. Of course he invited everyone he considered his friends and their family out to celebrate her Aunt's death. She should have deduced that from the beginning. She still wasn't sure if he'd known though so she had felt the need to tell him. It was a much better situation than the alternative she was going to use, sending Sirius a letter informing him of his mother's death. Of course she would have told her husband that the Owl was gone on some other job, but she would still have to lie. She hated lying.<p>

She also hated the way that her family worked. No one seemed to have any freedom because her Husband controlled everything in her and Draco's life. She could tell Draco didn't like his father most of the time but there was nothing she could do about it but sit there and watch. She loved her Husband but sometimes he just needed to cool down a bit.

She had smiled to herself when she saw her son playing with the Weasley kids and Harry Potter. Even if they were just playing for a few minutes she still loved to see that he could interact with other children. She knew Draco didn't like any of the friends that Lucius had tried to make for him but he seemed to put up with his play dates.

Speaking of her husband, she noticed that he was now looking around for their son. She started a conversation about the minister but for some reason, Lucius wasn't distractible today. Her husband spotted their son and yelled for him. He wasn't going to blame a six-year-old for talking to the boy who defeated the Dark Lord but that didn't mean that her son wasn't going to get a hefty lecture the moment that they sat down at their table.

Looking at Sirius and then looking at her son still talking to Harry, she hoped to God that her son wouldn't get sorted into Gryffindor so that Lucius wouldn't shun him from the family like her Aunt Walburga had her cousin. She didn't think she could handle that.

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><p>Thanks for reading! Please review!<p> 


	4. Before Hogwarts: A Trip to Privet Drive

Hey Guys! I'm on Spring Break! WOOH! Finally! This is the last of my pre written chapters (which by the way i planned perfectly if i do say so myself). Sorry that this chapter is a bit short but im in the middle of writing the next chapter and i've already hit three thousand words. Like a boss.

Anyway, i realy hope you enjoy this! I'm going to be in chicago next sunday so i dont think i'll be able to give you guys a chapter next weekend. But it will be worth the wait. i promise!

Thanks to LilyEvans98 for reviewing. You're response is off, so i couldn't respond! You always ask good questions too! Thanks!

And thanks to my Beta, Stephanie O. You're so amazing! I couldn't ask for a better Beta! Thanks so much!

Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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><p>"Mum, do we have to go? I hate going there!" Harry whined as she woke him up early for the trip.<p>

"Yes, you have to go. You don't have a choice. Now get up before I have to bring Sirius in here to do so."

"I'm up, I'm up!" It was 5 o'clock AM outside. Harry sprung up out of the bed to avoid being awoken by a mangy dog that licked him to death.

"You have thirty minutes to eat and get dressed before we leave." Lily briskly walked out of Harry's room and down the stairs to start breakfast.

Twice a year, Lily Potter brought her son to her sister's house while her sister's husband was away on business. She always made it a car trip because apparating always scares Petunia and her sister's house isn't connected to the floo network. Besides, she loved taking her car out of the garage to go further than the flower shop she worked at those two times a year. It reminded her of the car trips she used to take as a child with her family to go to her Aunt's house for Christmas.

Lily broke the eggs against the pan and emptied their shells into it, listening to the searing proteins. She was completely aware that she could cook breakfast magically but then it lost all of its appeal. She enjoyed her time to think.

"Mummy. Mum I'm hungry." A bleary-eyed Harry said as he entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

"I know love. I'm making you your eggs now. Scrambled, right?" The half-asleep Harry nodded. "Cheese as well?" He nodded again. She smiled at how much her son still acted like James even though he wasn't there. "Grab a plate and fork then and go sit down at the table. I still need to put half of the eggs in the refrigerator for Sirius." Harry continued to nod as he grabbed his plastic Quiddich plate with the picture of the Chudley Cannons' seeker waving the snitch at him and left the kitchen into the dining room.

* * *

><p>It was 8 o'clock and a usually hyper Harry Potter was pouting in his mum's car. He really didn't like going to his cousin's house. In fact, he'd go as far to say that he hated going there. His aunt was nice but Dudley never shares his toys. Especially since he has a whole other room dedicated to toys. His mum also told Harry to always stay calm at their house. Something about not doing any magic.<p>

"Are we almost there?" Harry's full bladder was suddenly the only thing he could think about.

"Yes, sweetheart. Can't you tell? We're in their cul-de-sac. All the houses look the same." Lily said. She still remembered the time she and James visited with Harry the first time Vernon was away on business. They'd rung the wrong door. It was quite amusing thinking back on it but at the time it was absolutely horrifying.

"I have to use the loo, Mum." Harry said, now starting to squirm in his seat.

"There's not much I can do about that until we get there Harry. Now be quiet. Two minutes I promise."

Harry sat patiently waiting and watching the houses go by. The car turned into a driveway and Harry just about ripped the door off of the car.

"Harry, wait for me," his mum said as she turned the car off and got out. Harry ignored her, of course and ran straight to the door and rang the bell.

His Aunt Petunia was one of the nicest people he knew. She didn't like it when his mum used magic but that only happened when either he or Dudley was in trouble or hurt. Besides that she gave him the biggest hugs. She was always happy to see him.

"There's my little Harry-berry!" His Aunt said as she opened the door. She picked him up and gave him a hug.

"Aunt Petunia!" Harry giggled. "Put me down put me down! I have to use the loooo!" he tried to say as Petunia squeezed him tightly.

"Okay okay! Go quick! Dudley is in the living room watching T.V. and waiting for you. Sesame Street is on." She said pointedly, knowing it was Harry's favorite show.

"Thanks!" Harry beamed up at her and ran to go find the loo.

* * *

><p>"They're growing up so fast." Lily said to her sister as she put down the tray of tea. Lily picked up a cup, recognizing it as her parents' old china.<p>

"I know." Her sister replied as she poured milk into her tea. It was now 9 o'clock. Sesame Street had just ended and the kids were upstairs playing with Dudley's new train set. "It seems like just yesterday we were trying to figure out how to see each other's baby without Vernon figuring it out." She laughed to herself as she remembered James' much appreciated help with that scheme.

Lily remembered as well. She smiled along with her sister as she remembered the day Harry was born. James was there, of course. It was one of her best memories of him. He held her hand as she cursed him to high heaven and continued giving her words of encouragement. The surprise that Harry was a boy and the joy that came out of James at the simple idea of having "another Maurader". She'd just laughed at him at the time, but now she appreciated how special that was to him. She'd then made James owl Petunia and surprisingly, Petunia answered back. She was excited for her sister. She told her everything about her own new baby and about her wanting to see Harry. James helped figure out the "business trip" plan and it was a plan they'd stuck to even after her husband's death.

"Yah." Lily said as she smiled. "I'm not going to lie; James almost threw that letter out when it came. He didn't think I wanted anything to do with you." She laughed as she continued. "The look on his face when I told him to read it to me was priceless."

"I'm just glad that owl came while Vernon was at work or else we never would have had the chance to reunite the way we did. I've never really told you this Lils, but I don't know what I would have done if you'd died the night that he came. I would have been beside myself." She began to tear up and look down at her tea. "I really hate to say it but I don't think I'd be the same person today. I know for a fact that I wouldn't feel the same way that I do about my husband that I do today. Lily, I need some advice."

The abrupt change in conversation Lily off-guard. She had no idea that her sister really cared for her that much, she just always thought these visits were about Harry and Dudley's relationship. "Anything, Petunia. You know I'm here for you." She said even though inside she was slightly wary of what her sister was about to say.

"Lily, I think I want to divorce Vernon. He's just not what I thought he was. I thought I love him but every time you speak of James I want what you and James had. What we have is normal. Through the years of us actually being friends I've begun to realize that it may not be best to be normal. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like magic, but I've come to accept that it can be helpful. Vernon is so disruptive in his strive for normalcy that I just don't think I can handle it anymore. I don't love him as much as I thought I did and I don't want to be his wife. At the same time I don't want to hurt Dudley. He looks up to that bastard." Petunia looked up at her sister for the first time since she'd begun her speech. "Lily, I don't know what to do."

To say that Lily was surprised was an understatement. She'd never liked Vernon and she was glad that her sister finally saw him for what he and their relationship together was, but she was sad that it was after the two had gotten married and had a child. She didn't like the fact that she was thinking of taking Dudley away from his father when he had the chance to have one, but at the same time she knew that her sister had already considered that. "Well Tuney, it's up to you. My house is always open, you know that. We've got extra room and we can always make more." Lily smiled at her sister, knowing she would make the right decision. _Sirius will just have to suck it up._

* * *

><p>Meanwhile…<p>

"Dudley, why can't I play with the train set too?" Harry asked his cousin. He was tired of his cousin's selfish behavior when it came to his toys. Dudley was showing Harry his new train set that he'd gotten for his birthday. The rough nature that he was using made Harry completely aware of the fact that the train would soon end up in the pile of broken toys that was sitting in the corner of Dudley's "toy room", completely neglected.

"Because it's mine and my daddy says I should always keep what's mine to myself because other people aren't smart enough or good enough to have it." Dudley told Harry what his dad said in the same way that his dad said it.

"But Dudley, if we both play with the train then we can have fun together." Harry tried to explain to his cousin.

"But it's mine."

"So? If you let me play with the train with you then I promise that if you ever come to my house you can play with my toy broom with me." Harry said doing his best to compromise with his dunce of a cousin.

"What do you mean toy broom? Aren't brooms used for sweeping?" Dudley asked, train forgotten.

"Not where I live. I can use my toy broom to fly a few feet off the ground. Real brooms have no limits as to how far they can fly." Harry explained. Dudley's head looked like it was about to explode with wonder. He didn't understand how a broom could possibly ever fly. Magic was for freaks. That's what his dad always said.

"But that's not possible."

"But it is. I've done it. My uncle Padfoot takes me on his broom sometimes when my Mum's at work and he has the day off of being an Aurer (A/N: I think it would be cute if Harry said the word wrong. I know how to spell Auror)."

"What's an Aurer?" Dudley asked.

"They fight the bad people left over from the war we had when I was really young. The war took my daddy away. And it also gave me this scar." Harry lifted up his bangs to show his cousin the scar that Voldemort had left him. At his young age, of course, he didn't know the full story of how he'd gotten the scar, but all he knew was that it was the result of a war.

Dudley stared at the scar in complete awe. The sharp lines and definition of the scar scared him a little. He'd never seen anything like it. It was almost cool.

"Wow. Aurers must be really cool if they can get rid of what gave you that."

"I know. My Uncle Padfoot is awesome. He fights all the bad people." Harry stood and grabbed a piece of train track. He used it as a wand and pretended to be an Auror, in their full glory.

"Pew pew pew!" Dudley tried to give the sound effect of a gun.

"No Dudley! It goes 'woosh woosh'. Wands wave, and they don't make sounds when they fire!" Harry said and grinned.

Dudley Dursley then picked up another piece of train track and pointed it at his cousin. They pretended to duel while making the 'wooshing' sound-effects for their wands. They were having so much fun that for once, Harry's visit few by. Before they knew it, it was time to go. Dudley's toy room was a disaster when Lily and Petunia came in to find that Dudley and Harry had built their own forts to act as their "shields" from the other person's wand.

"What in heaven are you doing, Dudley?" Petunia said as she gasped at the mess.

"Harry told me about his Aurer Uncle so Harry and I were playing Aurer."

Lily began to laugh hysterically. Her sister's son was pretending to be a wizard. Not only that but he was getting along with her own son and accepting magic.

"Mum, I don't want to leave!" Harry said. Unlike Dudley, he recognized the fact that the arrival of their mothers and the setting of the sun meant that he and Dudley had to stop playing and he and his mother had to leave.

Lily wiped her eyes from the tears that had formed from her laughter. "I'm sorry, sweetheart but we have to be home to feed your Uncle Padfoot. I don't think he'll be able to last without us."

"Auntie Lily, do you mean the Aurer Uncle?" Dudley asked, trying to be polite as he tried to hide his excitement as well.

"Yes I do mean the _Auror_ Uncle," Lily responded as she began to laugh once again. She just had to remember to tell Sirius all about this later. "In order for him to be a good Auror though, we need to feed him. Let's get going, Harry."

Harry sighed. For the first time in his life, he'd been having fun with his cousin. Given he didn't spend much time with Dudley, but before this trip he'd found him to be selfish. He still was but he could have fun too.

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><p>"Bye!" Dudley said as he ran down the driveway, waving at his cousin's car which was now on the street and driving off where he couldn't go.<p>

"Come inside now, Dudley, it's starting to get cold." Petunia called her son in, happy that he finally seemed to have fun with Harry.

"Alright, mum." Dudley ran back up the driveway as fast as his fat little legs could carry him. He got inside the door and remembered something he'd promised himself to ask his mum as soon as he could. "Mum? Can I ask a question?"

"Sure my little Dudders. Anything." Dudley winced at the name his mother had created but continued on with his question anyway.

"Can I get a cool scar like Harry's?"

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><p>Thanks for reading everyone! Please review! I appreciate it!<p> 


	5. Before Hogwarts: Portraits and Snitchs

Hey Everyone! I'm home finally! Sorry for not updating last week. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that in the last author's note. Anywho... This chapter is LONG! By far the longest chapter I've ever written. I really hope you like this! Enjoy!

Thanks to Stephanie O! You're the best Beta ever!

Disclaimer: I wish I was J.K. Rowling. Unfortunately, I'm not which means I don't own Harry Potter.

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><p>Two years later:<p>

Sirius was sitting on the couch in the living room with a glass of firewhiskey. Lily was putting Harry to bed and he was waiting for Remus to arrive. Lily didn't know it, but today Remus and he were going to ambush her. They had both agreed that it was wrong for Lily to continue to keep Harry away from the story of his father's death and away from where it took place. Godric's Hollow was his as he was Lord Potter not to mention the fact that he'd be going to Hogwarts in a little more than three years as Harry had just turned eight last week. The Weasleys did their best to keep their children from telling Harry that he was famous but eventually he had to know. By now, they'd both agreed, Harry should know exactly what has happened in his life.

_Knock, knock, knock. _Sirius leaped up from his spot on the couch to open the door. Remus' face smiled back at him. The full moon, thankfully for Harry, had been a few days after his birthday. Remus looked rough, but it wasn't too bad.

"Hey." Sirius said to his old friend.

"Hey Padfoot. I see you've already got your firewhiskey in hand."

"You bet your arse I do! Harry's upstairs so therefore I'm not drinking in front of him, so Lily can't yell at me." He smiled at his plan that he'd thought was so sneaky.

Remus laughed at his friend and let himself in. He sat on the couch fully prepared for Lily's surprise to find him there. For now though, he and Sirius had some time to themselves.

"So, found a girl yet Remus?" Sirius asked. He knew his friend would settle down eventually, it was just a question of when.

Remus sighed. The awkward conversation that his friend always managed to bring up was really starting to make him mad. Thankfully, he didn't have to answer with an embarrassing "no" because just then, Lily decided to come down the stairs.

"Remus!" the two men heard. "What a nice surprise!" she said as she entered the living room and gave Remus a hug.

Remus chuckled back. "Nice to know I'm still wanted. How are you, Lils?"

Lily smiled, even though she was sighing on the inside. "Oh, I'm good. Tired, but good. How about you?"

"I'm great. I got this job teaching at a young muggle school in the area, actually. I'm really enjoying it. But Lily, I didn't come here to make small talk." Remus said, trying to force the conversation in the direction that he and Sirius wanted.

"I was afraid of that. Alright. What do you have for me?" She said, thinking she was ready for whatever news or idea they were going to throw at her.

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, tacitly trying to tell the other one to say it. Their staring began to make Lily think that it might be worse than she thought. Eventually Sirius gave in and turned to a now white Lily. "Lil, Remus and I think not only does Harry need to be told his own story, but you also need to take him to Godric's Hollow. He deserves to see where his father grew up. We mention James all the time in conversation, in fact I think he'll end up more like James than he would have if James were here! But Harry needs to know why we always put makeup on his forehead when we go out. Harry needs to know why people give him strange looks that no one else gets. And Harry deserves to see not only where his father died but also where his father and ancestors lived. When James first died you said you'd take him back. We decided to give you five years to do so. We've waited a year and nothing's happened so we decided to bring it up. We'll go with you, Lily. We'll do whatever you need us to do in order to help you. The condition is that Harry knows everything. And I mean _everything_."

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><p>Lily couldn't sleep that night. She'd agreed to tell Harry everything the next morning, but she wasn't sure she was ready. The truth was that she was completely aware of the promise she'd made over six years ago now.<p>

_Flashback_

_Sirius and Lily had just entered their new home. Lily was thinking of all the perks to the new house but couldn't help but think of her old one._

"_It's beautiful though." Lily said to Sirius. "I would like to stop by our old house soon though and grab a few things we had to leave behind in the chaos. It just gets too much attention right now. Maybe in a few years we can move back in if we fix up Harry's room. I want him to know he's a Potter, even if James isn't here to tell him." She sighed as they stood in the parlor room of the new house. _I just hope this doesn't last forever.

_End Flashback_

Not only had Lily never returned to the house, but she had no plans whatsoever to move back. She'd hoped that the memories of that night would go away but her nightmares of James' dead body haunted her. She couldn't escape that horrible night.

At the same time, she knew her two friends were right. She needed to take Harry back to _his_ house. He was Lord Potter now. He deserved to see what was in that house. She sighed. He was going to be turning eight in a few weeks. It was July 7th now she assumed as the sun was beginning to rise. _I suppose I'm just not going to be sleeping tonight, _she thought to herself. Lily proceeded to get up and get ready for the day. At six she was going to call her boss and tell him that she needed to take care of a family emergency. She'd never taken a day off in the six years that she'd worked there and since he was such a nice man, she was sure that he would give her the day. For now though, she decided to settle on going to the Library for an hour.

She sped down the stairs to her favorite place in the house. To her surprise, she found Remus awake there as well. He'd decided to stay the night as their conversation had lasted until almost one. "Remus." She breathed.

"Hey Lil." He smiled at her from his chair. "I'm going to take a guess here and say that you couldn't sleep either?"

Lily sighed. "Ya, I just had too much on my mind. I'm also a little scared for today."

Lily squirmed where she was standing, wishing to God that she didn't have to return to the house where her husband died six years ago. _No,_ she thought to herself, _I can't back out now. I need to be the Gryffindor that I know I am._ Lily needed to go to that house. She needed to do it for Harry.

* * *

><p>Sirius, Lily, Remus, and Harry were standing at the graveyard in Godric's Hollow. They were staring at the gravestone that read,<p>

_James Potter _

_27 March, 1960 – 31 October, 1981_

_Lily Potter_

_30 January, 1960 –_

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

Tears rolled down Lily's face. She conjured a bouquet of flowers to lie on her dead husband's grave. Harry was crying with her.

Sirius's face was blank. He hated death and still didn't know how to handle it even after all these years that James has been gone.

"We should get going." Lily whispered. She grabbed Harry's hand and turned around. Remus turned to follow but noticed that Sirius wasn't moving.

"Are you coming, Padfoot?" He asked, already knowing what his friend was going to say.

"I'll come eventually. I just need a few minutes. Go on, Harry needs at least one of us there."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

"_James! Wait up!" Sirius shouted. His best friend had run off of the train as soon as he could to find his parents. Sirius did his best to follow him but couldn't keep up. It was Christmas break and Sirius had moved into the Potter's home the past summer since he'd run away from his own family._

_He ran through the crowd of parents, all excited to see their children. Well, all but one family. Sirius saw his mother, Walburga Black, standing coldly away from the other excited parents. The blank look on her face was one that Sirius had always said she'd trademarked. Their eyes met and Sirius could see the disapproval dripping from her cold, piercing blue eyes._

_Disapproval and anger. The only two emotions he'd ever seen her show._

"_Sirius!" He heard another familiar woman's voice shout."Sirius, it's been too long!" Mrs. Potter's welcoming voice rang in his ears. He smiled and broke the eye connection with his own mother. Turning to face forward, he finally found James. He was pointing at Sirius and his mother, who was standing next to him, was calling his name._

"_Mrs. Potter!" Sirius said as he ran up to hug her. He glanced back at his own mother, disappointment now the only emotion in her eyes._

_Four Years Later_

"_That was the best bachelor party ever!" Sirius said, still completely drunk. James' parents had agreed to let them stay the night at their house since Lily said he couldn't return to their flat._

"_Thanks, Sirius. I mean it." He smiled at his brother brightly before he managed to trip over the uneven break in the sidewalk. Fortunately, James somehow managed to catch himself. The two boys broke into a howl of laughter._

_Unbeknownst to them at the time, Mrs. Potter's eyes were watching them from the upstairs window. She sighed to herself and began the trek downstairs to help her two drunk boys into the house. Though Sirius had been a later addition, she still treated him as a son. _

"_Boys?" She called out from the front door. _

_The two boys' howling laughter abruptly ended. Sirius looked up. He had never seen anything that screamed "_home_" to him ever before. And he never would again._

_End Flashback_

Who the other three grieved for was James. What Sirius grieved for was the only real family he'd ever known.

* * *

><p>Harry and Lily arrived in front of the row of houses that they used to live in. As she turned to look at Harry, she noticed that he wasn't looking at the houses any longer. Instead, he was looking at the huge statue of their family. The sculptor had captured James' face perfectly. Lily's heart skipped a beat when she saw the little baby Harry in her arms. He had his scar.<p>

Harry let go of Lily's hand. He ran towards the statue at full speed, needing to look closer. He stared at his father's face with an extreme amount of curiosity.

"I didn't even know that they'd put something like that up." She heard a voice from behind her. Remus was looking at the statue with sorrow etched into his eyes.

"I didn't either. I told them to do what they wanted here. A ministry official came to the hospital on the night that Sirius was moving our stuff into the house. I'm not sure where you were. I just told him he could do whatever he wanted as long as it was invisible to muggles and wasn't too big. I knew I'd have to come back here some day. Can you please go over there with Harry? I'd like to go look at what they said about the house." Lily explained everything she knew. She knew Harry would have questions about the statue which was why she sent Remus over to him. She needed to make sure to stay emotionally stable and answering those questions would not do her well.

Instead, she went over to the mess that she used to call a home. The bushes that James had added in the front were now completely overgrown, and one was even dead. The front door had lost the shine that it had previously had. The section of the house that used to be Harry's nursery had two walls and a roof missing from it. That must have been from Voldemort's death or the reductor curse he'd sent at her. Just seeing it brought back memories.

There was a plaque on the fence that she hadn't noticed before.

It read:

_On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,_

_James Potter lost his life._

_He is survived by his wife, Lily Potter._

_Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard_

_ever to have survived the Killing Curse._

_This house, invisible to muggles, has been left_

_in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters_

_and as a reminder of the violence_

_that tore apart their family._

Around the entire Plaque, there were words scribbled into the wood left by witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had, well, Lived. Some were just names, but others were messages that left Lily speechless.

_Be happy Lily and Harry, you deserve it!_

_You've left an example for all of us to follow._

_Thanks Harry! _

Lily didn't even know what to think. Before she got the chance to digest what she had just read, she noticed a scribble that she knew all too well had etched its own note into the plaque.

_I love you._

"Mum! Is this our old house?" Her thoughts were disrupted by the small voice that was growing louder by the second.

"This is it, sweetie." She had time to write a letter later.

"Wow." She looked down to see her almost eight year old son staring at the hole in the house.

"Ya, wow."

"Are we just going to stand here and look at the thing or are we going in?" The three who were standing there turned their heads sharply to see Sirius walking towards them briskly.

"Well, I guess this is it." Lily said as she took Harry's hand and opened the gate.

The two heard their friends' foot steps following them. When they got to the door, Lily explained to Harry that he was the only one who could open the door as he was the Potter Heir. It was how they'd set it up so that no one but Harry and those with him could enter the house.

The door creaked loudly as Harry opened it. He took the first step into his old house and dropped his mother's hand. This was the house of his ancestors.

_Pop. Pop. Pop._

"Master Potter! Master Potter!" Three house elves surrounded Harry in excitement. Harry was suddenly engulfed with creatures he had heard of but never encountered before.

"Um, Hello?" Harry said with a level of uncertainty that made Sirius laugh.

"Hello Daisy, Tufty, and Finky." His mother said from behind him. The house elves around him stopped in their bombardment of Harry. They turned. The youngest and the one that Lily herself had named only nine years ago on a trip to James' parents' house, Daisy, was the first to speak.

"Mistress Potter?" Daisy's eyes were wide with amazement.

"Hey, why don't I get any love?" Sirius smirked. The three house elves turned their attention to Sirius.

"Master Black! Oh how wonderful! Everyone's returned!" Tufty said. The three house elves looked close to tears.

"All of you need to go back to our house in Ottery St. Catchpole. Okay? We don't want to spend much time here but we would really appreciate your help at our new house." Lily smiled. She still called it their new house even though it had been theirs for almost six years.

"Yes Mistress!" All three house elves said and they left with a definite _Pop_.

Harry turned to his mother in confusion. Why had they not used the house elves before? Lily ignored Harry's questioning eyes and continued on. She led Harry and the other two around the dusty house they'd previously lived in. Memories came back to the three adults while Harry was mesmerized by the ideas of his past. After strictly avoiding Harry's nursery, Lily decided to finish the tour by showing Harry around the basement. She was fully aware of how much this would mean to her son as this was where the Potters put all of their heirlooms. She wasn't sure exactly what James and Sirius had put in here after they'd moved in. She'd just let James take charge of the rest of the house as she settled Harry into his nursery. After his parents' deaths, it was good for his grieving process to move the things that reminded him of them. She supported his decision fully.

Unfortunately, that now meant that Harry was going to be overwhelmed by an array of Potter family things that he was most likely not prepared for. But Lily knew it was going to be good for him. She'd done her best for him to know _exactly_ who is father was. She didn't want her husband to have died in vein.

Lily opened the door to the stairway that led to the basement. She brought her son and friends down the stairway slowly, using her magic to light the stairway as they went. The butterflies in her stomach bubbled as she grabbed her son's hand.

When they reached the bottom, Sirius released the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding all at once. He looked around the room that was completely covered in dust. _It's here somewhere_.

* * *

><p>"Mum! Mum! Look what I found!" Harry shouted at Lily for what seemed to be the hundredth time since they'd been down there. He'd found portraits of his ancestors, cloaks with the Potter crest on them, a few things with a strange symbol that Lily didn't recognize every time he asked about it, and even a few wands. Harry was having the time of his life.<p>

"What, sweetheart?"

"It's another portrait! This one doesn't have so much dust on it though! I can't get off the cloth that's covering it. It must be sound proof or something because usually by now they're talking to me." Harry said as he struggled to get the heavier-than-usual cloth off of the portrait.

Sirius' head snapped to attention. _He said he made its sound proof so that he wasn't tempted to go downstairs and talk to them._

As Sirius rushed over to where Lily and Harry were, Lily finally was able to remove the cloth.

"Well hello there, Lily! How are you?" The lady in the portrait said.

"Lily! Hello! And who is this little one? Is this my grandson?" The man said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter! Hello! Did James put you down here?" Lily had _not _been prepared for this.

"Yes he did, Lily or may I say Mrs. Potter by now, right after our real selves died I do believe. Our poor son couldn't handle it." Mr. Potter said.

"Wow. Hi." Harry said, about as belatedly as he could. He was still trying to grasp the fact that he was "meeting" his grandparents. He was more than excited!

"Hello, dear. And what's your name?" His grandma said.

"My name's Harry."

"Really? Mine's Harold! Would you look at that! Del, I have a namesake!" Mr. Potter said, obviously very excited.

"Yes, yes you do, Harold. Would you calm down? You're scaring the poor child!" Delilah said to her husband, scolding him.

"Mum! Can we take it home?" Harry asked. He'd always wanted grandparents. Neither set was alive so he'd never been able to have them, but now he had a portrait. He supposed that a portrait was better than nothing.

Lily weighed the consequences with the good that could come out of this. She didn't want to be reminded of the times she spent with James so much, but at the same time she could see the happiness glowing out of Harry. How could she deny her son something that made him so happy?

"Okay fine, under one condition. They are to stay on your side of the house, away from my bedroom and away from Sirius'. They can be hung up between your bedroom and the guest bedroom in the hallway. That's it. Okay?"

"YES! Did you hear that? You get to come home with me!" Harry shouted excitedly to his grandparents. Lily could see them smiling but she saw the questions in their eyes. _Why aren't they living in the Potter home?_

She wasn't going to talk to them about that now and as parents she was sure the two would understand. They _got it_. She turned around to see Sirius hiding just behind her so that the portrait couldn't see him. She smiled at him, understanding that he wanted some time with them. He'd lived with them for at least two years after all, and they'd been parents to him more than his own ever had been.

"Harry, why don't we go look at some other stuff for now while Sirius takes this home for us, okay?"

"Okay, Mum." Harry said. He waved goodbye to the portrait and turned around to a new section of clutter that he'd yet to go through.

Sirius just smiled at Lily as he grabbed the portrait and apparated away.

* * *

><p>"Mum! Look! Look what I found!" Harry shouted. Sirius had returned about an hour ago and told Lily that she should wrap up the excursion since it was getting dark out and he was hungry. She told him she'd given Harry an hour and that hour was just about up.<p>

"What, sweetie?" All three of the adults' breaths caught in their throats when they saw what Harry was opening. It was James' Quiddich set, the same set from which James got his legendary Snitch.

What happened next went so fast that had Lily blinked, she would have missed it. When Harry fully opened the set, the snitch went flying. But, instead of worrying about where it was and how to catch it, Harry's hand had snapped up and he'd caught it with less than a second glance. Sirius and Remus were stunned, while Lily just didn't know what to do. Harry ran over to where she was standing, with the snitch still in his hand, and said to her, "Mum! Look! I got it!"

Lily was having flashbacks from her school days. She remembered James' quick reflexes with that _bloody_ annoying snitch.

Remus could remember the day he came to school after Christmas break in their second year, with that snitch in hand waving it at him and Sirius on the train. He couldn't help but smile.

Sirius was still stunned at Harry's reflexes. He smiled at his Godson and laughed. "Well, it looks like we've got a future seeker on our hands."

Though all three of them had different memories attached to that snitch, for the first time in a long time, all three had smiles that reached their eyes.

* * *

><p>I hope you guys liked it! Please review!<p> 


	6. Before Hogwarts: Memories and Nightmares

Hey, guys! I'm backkk! Okay so I'm sure you saw the Author's note so I'll make this quick. This is a shorter-ish chapter than the last full length chapter and i'm sorry about that especially since it was after a longer hiatus. Between Prom, my ACT, and Easter, this was the soonest i had the chance to update! I'm SOOO excited about the next chapter i'm writing though so i hope you enjoy this one and i hope you review!

There's a ton of Sirius/Harry interaction as well as Lily/Harry interaction. There's a little of Sirius's childhood in this chapter, but nothing too bad. If it really disturbs you that much, skip the flashbacks. I purposely avoided images of abuse, but i didn't avoid the fact that he had a harsh home life.

Thanks for reading! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... but i wish to god i did!

Special thanks to my Beta, Stephanie O. ! Go check out some of her stories! She's a great writer and I appreciate her amazing grammar skills!

ENJOY!

* * *

><p>That same night, it was Sirius's turn to tuck Harry in to bed. As per usual, Sirius tucked his godson in and went over to the bookshelf, ready to grab a nighttime story for the lad.<p>

"Sirius?" he heard the boy ask.

"What's up, Harry? Don't you want me to read you a story?" Sirius asked, confused.

"Well, yes, but I was wondering if you could tell me a story about my Dad."

Sirius smiled. He had so many memories of his father, but which ones could he tell him that the young child could understand and that Lily wouldn't be mad at him for telling.

"What do you want to know?" He could start there. That would be easy enough.

"Mum said that you used to live with Dad. Why?"

Sirius took a deep breath. That was a loaded question, yet it was probably the easiest to answer.

"Well, first off, I need to explain to you what my life was at home…

_Flashback_

"_Sirius! Get up!" Sirius heard his mother's voice screeching up the stairway. He was on summer break and about to go into his third year at Hogwarts. He'd only been home for a week and he already missed his friends in Gryffindor dearly._

_He rolled over in his bed and groggily got up. It was no use resisting his mother, since she would just send Kreacher up if he didn't get up; something that no one wanted._

_Today his cousins, Bella and Narcissa, were coming over for lunch. His favorite cousin, Andromeda, had just been kicked out of the family. He absolutely hated the rest of his blood purist family._

"_Sirius, the girls are going to be here in an hour. I let your lazy bum sleep until ten. Now get up or I'll send Kreacher up there."_

"_I'm um Mum! I'm up!" He screamed. It was the only way to get rid of her. "Bloody hell." He said under his breath. It was going to be a long day._

_End Flashback_

"Wow… that sounds terrible. Your Mum didn't even come up the stairs to wake you up? And what happened during Lunch?" Harry said, his eyes wide.

"Nope, bud. She was really mean. So were Narcissa and Bella, although Bella was worse." Sirius shivered remembering when he got the news that Bella had tortured the Longbottoms to insanity. "They threatened me to get into the 'right house' or I would pay. You should have been there when my mom sent the howler when she found out that I was in Gryffindor…

_Flashback_

_Sirius was walking next to James. They were on their way down to the Great Hall to grab breakfast. It was their first day of classes as they'd gotten there on a Saturday. The two had hit it off from the start. It wasn't that the other boys in their dorm weren't cool, it was just that Remus tended to stay away from them while Peter was extremely quiet._

_The two found two spots for themselves at the Gryffindor table. They chatted adamantly about Quiddich until the mail began to trickle in. Sirius hadn't told James, but he was worried. He was extremely worried about what his Mum was going to say. He had counted the days. He was either going to get her response today or tomorrow. _

_The butterflies in his stomach turned into stinging bees as he looked at an owl coming directly at him with a red letter._

"_Hey Siri, someone got a howler! I wonder who it could be!" James had said, completely unaware of his new friend's paling face. James knew that his friend's last name was 'Black' and he was still trying to get used to the fact that he was a Gryffindor, but he'd yet to understand the repercussions for that unusual fact._

_As the howler got closer, James got more and more nervous. He knew his Mum didn't believe in howlers since she had gotten quite the handful as a student herself. She'd promised not to send him any howlers. Little did he know, that this was the first of an array of howlers from Mrs. Black that he was to hear in his short lifetime. _

_Sirius' heart was beating faster than it ever had before. The owl dropped the howler on his plate of food. Instead of shying from it though, at the last second, he sat up straight, fully prepared for everything his mother was about to say._

"_SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" The noise in the Great Hall was gone. The only thing anyone could hear was Walburga Black's piercing voice. "WHAT HAPPENED? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN SLYTHERIN! HOW DID I NOT MAKE THAT CLEAR? YOU ARE SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THIS FAMILY. ARE YOU TRYING TO BECOME SO MUCH LIKE THAT BLOODTRAITER ANDROMEDA THAT YOU WENT FURTHER THAN HER? GRYFFINDOR? I'm so disappointed in you. Don't think I'll forget this." The howler screamed everything but the last two sentences. Only Sirius and James heard them. Her tone of voice seemed to be concise and harsh. There seemed to be a knife in it meant to torture her son. It was the cut into his heart that hurt more than any of the yelling could. He _was_ a disappointment. _

_This realization only lasted a few seconds. He let his face return to the hard mask it had previously been. He turned to his new friend whose face was completely shocked._

"_James, let's head to class early. We don't want to be late on our first day."_

_End Flashback_

Harry's eyes had grown to be twice the size they usually were over the course of the story. Both boys were so into their "story time" that they didn't even notice when Lily entered the room but hung back at the doorway.

"So," Sirius continued with Harry glued to every word his Godfather was saying, "when I finally had had enough it was already the summer after my sixth year. I, well, _corrected_ my mother's terminology when she was, well, _complaining_ about my friends and the fact that I was a Gryffindor, and she'd finally had enough. She told me to go to my room and stay there. I said no. Oh was she hoppin' mad at that point. Instead I told her I was going to leave. She told me that if I did, I would no longer be a part of the Black family. I said, 'good riddence', and she tossed me onto the street on my bum, broomstick and trunk in hand. That was it. I was at somewhat of a loss as to what to do, but eventually I remembered the fact that I'd spent the majority of holidays at your father's house anyway and I knew your grandmother would welcome me in with open arms. So I got onto that broomstick, as I was still sixteen and couldn't apparate yet, and flew all the way to Godrics Hollow…

_Flashback_

_Sirius knocked on the door of the house furiously. He'd been on his broom for the last six hours, he guessed, as he still didn't have his 17 year old watch (and would probably never get one now), that it was about one or two in the morning. He banged on that door as hard as he could. But no one could hear him it seemed since no one was answering the bloody door!_

Time for plan B_, Sirius thought to himself. He found a pebble that he knew would be there since a huge amount lined their little tulip arrangement in the front. James' former room was the same nursery that had been blown up in Voldemort's attack; which meant that at the time, it was very easy to hit his best friend's windows with pebbles until he woke up. Exactly fourteen pebbles later, his best friend's head was sticking out the window just as Sirius was about to throw his fifteenth._

"_Sirius?" James asked groggily. It took him a good minute to figure out who it was first, though. "Sirius what the bloody _hell_ are you doing, throwing pebbles at my window like a freaking idiot at two thirty in the morning?"_

Well, _Sirius thought, _at least my inner clock's still working! _Sirius replied with a grin. "Well," he said trying to keep his grin solid on his face, "it seems to be that about six hours ago I was completely disowned from the Black Family and kicked out of my own house with nothing but my broomstick and my trunk. So I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while, Jamie!" _

_James looked like he was trying to process all of the information at once. Sirius understood that this didn't give him any reason to worry as he was fully aware that his best friend was _not_ a morning person. _

"_Um, sure Sirius. Hang on. Let me get the door." _

_End Flashback_

"Wow." Harry said to his Godfather, enthralled in the stories of his past.

"I know. Your father didn't ask any questions once we got in the house. He just took my stuff from me, told me the kitchen was open and that I could ask any of the house elves for food, and threw my stuff in the guest bedroom that I always stayed in. I wouldn't say that the entire process from me being outside to me being asleep took more than fifteen minutes. It was quite impressive." Sirius smiled as he thought about the memory he'd just shared with his best friend's son.

_His dead best friend's son_.

Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts by a certain woman clearing her throat. Both boys' heads snapped in her direction.

"Sirius, I think it's time for him to actually go to bed now, not that I'm complaining that you're telling him stories of yourself and James, but we do have to go shopping tomorrow." Lily smiled at Sirius.

"Of course, of course. Alright little Prongslet, it's time for you to actually get to bed. I told you my stories now you need to catch some beauty sleep!" Sirius said, still in his "fatherly mode" as Lily called it. He'd never be a dad to Harry but he was as close to one as Harry would ever get. Sirius tucked Harry in, making sure that he was snug and warm, before kissing him on the forehead and giving Lily a wink on his way out.

Lily was just about to turn around and turn off the light when she heard a quiet, "Mum?"

Lily looked at her son. He was the most precious thing in the world to her. His somewhat afraid, yet curious, face told her that she had a hard question waiting for her. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Earlier, before I asked Sirius for a story about Dad, I asked him when you two fell in love. He told me to ask you." Harry paused at the mixed reaction he saw on his mother's face. Lily was somewhere between crying and laughing. "Mummy?"

"Oh sweetheart. Sometimes people fall in love with someone before the other person does or with the other person completely in-able to reciprocate said feelings." Sirius would leave this question for her. "Your father fell in love with me, or so he said, the moment he saw me on Platform 9 ¾. Unfortunately, it took me a very long time to see the good in him and until then, I was anything _but_ in love with him. I actually quite hated him. I'll tell you the rest of the story another day when your older, but Harry, your father was a good person. He could be a bit of a git some days but for the most part, he was amazing. He was the most noble and caring person I will ever know. The hard part was that he didn't always show it. It took me a very long time to get under his skin. But when I finally found myself there, I was entranced. I just couldn't get enough of him. Harry, I desperately hope that you find the kind of love in your life that your father found in his. Just promise me you'll show the other person who you really are and not just what you think they should see, okay?" Lily looked into her young son's eyes.

"Okay, Mum. There was one other thing though. I don't want to fall asleep." The way he told her this began to worry Lily.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"Well I keep having nightmares. I'm afraid to fall asleep." Harry said, nervously. It made Lily sad to see.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked as she walked over and made a spot for herself to sit on his bed.

"Well… and don't freak out, please," Harry told her as he begged her with his eyes, "I keep having this dream where I see flashes of green, a scary laugh, and a song. It always starts out with the song though. It's been driving me nutters, Mum. It's really scary to me though, even if it _is_ just a light and a laugh, not to mention that every single time I wake up, I forget the song."

Lily attempted to hide her shock. _He remembered_. _He remembered everything_. After giving herself a moment to recover, she calmly explained to Harry that the Killing Curse has a green color to it and that she clearly remembered Voldemort laughing before he tried to kill him. This quieted Harry quickly. The callow, innocent look in his eyes broke her heart. "I will tell you one thing though," Lily whispered to her son as if it were the biggest secret in the world, "I do know exactly what song you are referring to."

Lily then began to hum the tune of Hush Little Baby. Shortly therafter, Harry fell asleep with a peaceful look on his face. She sighed deeply; _he shouldn't have to deal with dreams like that. God knows that the next one he'll have is of me getting blasted into the wall._

She quietly and gently got up from his bed and went to the door. She turned the lights off and shut the door only to be surprised by a quiet voice whispering, "Lily."

Lily whipped her head around only to see herself facing the same portrait that she and Sirius had made Remus put up just a few hours earlier. She couldn't help but smile at her in-laws who she hadn't seen in so long as they'd died before James had. "Hello Harold, Hello Delilah."

Her in-laws smiled. They'd asked her call them by their first names in private ever since they'd met. They'd insisted on it once she and James had been married since they were no longer the only Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Oh, Lily. We missed you." Delilah said. "Sirius told us everything. I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Lily's smile faltered but she managed to keep it up. She was so unfortunately used to this introduction by now that her reaction seemed second nature. She never thought she'd have to have this conversation with her in-laws though. "Thanks, Delilah. I appreciate it. I'm just concentrating on Harry now. He's the most important thing to me now, you know? He's my last living connection to James. It is wonderful that both he and I will get to see you every day now, though. I really missed you two. You really helped me get accustomed to the all-magic lifestyle."

"We missed social interaction! We really appreciate that you agreed to let Harry keep the portrait in the house. Both of us understand the difficulty of having a portrait of a deceased loved one as it has happened to the both of us." Harold said, acknowledging her discomfort.

"Thanks." Lily said, not sure how to respond.

For a while, she caught them up in everything that had happened to Harry so far. Sirius had hit the major events but she described his first step, told them his first word, and explained how smoothly he could ride a broom (not that she let him do so often).

Lily smiled as she wrapped up her conversation and turned around to head towards her room. As she was walking away, Delilah told her one more thing. "Lily, I just wanted to say that I think you've done a wonderful job raising Harry, and in your position I don't think I ever could have done as well as you have."

Lily couldn't hold back her smile. It meant a lot to her coming from the mother of her husband. "Thanks, Delilah, I appreciate it." She flashed her one of the same dazzling smiles her husband had fallen in love with and went to her room. She changed into a night dress and lay down. Looking at the clock sitting on her side table, she noticed that it was already one o'clock in the morning. Sighing, she tossed and turned, desperately trying to fall asleep. Just before she decided to give up, she began to hum "hush little baby" to herself. Ten minutes later, she fell into a deep sleep dreaming of Voldemort and her only son.

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><p>Thanks so much for reading! Please review! It always makes my day!<p> 


	7. Before Hogwarts: Getting Married?

Hey everybody! Sorry this is so late in the day, i had my SAT today. BUT, I managed to update! I have AP exams next week and the week after, so i will not be updating next weekend, okay? I'm sorry about that but i really need to study! AP United States History doesn't teach itself!

Thanks for sticking with me everyone. I have noticed that I really haven't been getting many reviews for this story and i'd appreciate some more. I REALLY appreciate the once i've gotten so far, and you guys are great, but i'd like some more feedback since i get the feeling i'm about to be stuck in writers block. so please review!

Thanks to my amazing beta: Stephanie.O! She's so awesome!

I don't own Harry Potter! Now... enjoy! And don't forget to review!

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><p>It was now early September of that same year, and three of the Weasleys had been sent to Hogwarts, one of them Head boy and in his last year there. Harry had turned eight officially and in exactly three years, he'd be in his first classes at Hogwarts. Today, though, he was at the Weasley's house, waiting to be picked up by his mother who was on her way home from work. He was talking to Ginny and Ron on the porch while waiting and complaining about the fact that he had to make his semi-annual trip to his aunt's house the next day.<p>

"I'm going to miss you guys. I really wish you could come with me." Harry sighed, thinking to himself that it would never happen. "I mean Dudley used to be really selfish but lately he's changed a bit. He's much more friendly and sharing now."

At seven years of age as of August 11th, Ginny Weasley had a determined look on her face. "We should go with you. Tomorrow's Saturday. The twins are grounded so they won't be able to come, but the two of us should be able to go with you! It would be lots of fun. Plus, I've never been to a completely Muggle house. I've been to your house which has lots of muggle stuff but I've never actually been to a real muggle house or a real muggle neighborhood. Maybe we can tell Mum that it would be like a field trip!" Ginny ended excitedly. She liked her best friend a lot and knew that while he enjoyed spending time with his cousin, he felt extremely awkward around him as he'd grown up with only magical children.

"Ya, mate," Ron added, "it would be tons of fun. What is it that your mum wouldn't like about it? Your aunt wouldn't mind more people, would she?"

Harry was sure that his aunt wouldn't mind more people. It was the type of people that might worry her. "I don't know mate, but as soon as my mum gets here, we'll ask. I promise."

Two minutes later, the trio was playing tag. Ron, with his unfortunate luck, managed to trip on the step up to the door of the chicken coop, fall on the door, open the door while trying to catch his fall, let out all of the chickens, and break his leg when the door then broke off and fell on him. To the other two children, it was quite comical. To Lily Potter, who had just apparated to the Weasleys' doorstep after the incident, it was anything but entertaining. She rushed over to help Ron out from under the door. When she realized his leg was broken, she yelled at Harry to go get Mrs. Weasley. At this, Harry sobered up and went to get his best mates' mother. Ginny followed his steps inside as her laughter turned into a solemn face.

Eventually, after Ron was taken care of and put up into his room with a potion to heal his bone, the two children left pitched their idea to their mothers. Lily agreed but told them that it was up to Molly if Ron would be able to go.

"It's very sweet of you that you want to include Ron in your trip to Lily's sister's house, but I don't think Ron will be able to go. I want to make sure his bone heals properly which means that I'm going to make him stay in bed for the next two days. But Ginny, you can go. What time will you be here to pick her up Lily?" Molly smiled at the younger mother.

"Sounds like a plan, Molly. I'll be here at seven thirty. Is that okay? It's just that we have to drive and I really don't want to be late." Lily gave her a smile.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were silently thinking. Harry was just glad that he didn't have to go alone to his aunt's house. Ginny, on the other hand, was just happy to be able to spend the day with Harry and make his day better.

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><p>"Whoa. What's that?" Ginny asks as soon as she says hello to Petunia and Dudley. Petunia was more than happy to let the little girl into her house and smiled as she realized that the little girl looked very much like a younger Lily. Dudley was smirking and Harry didn't know why, but Ginny hadn't even noticed either of these facts as she was surrounded by gadgets and trinkets that she'd never seen before in her life. The first thing she set her eyes on was the light switch. "I mean, what does it even do? How do you use it?"<p>

Dudley was entertained, to say the least. Harry had proposed this question to him a few years back and he still remembered Harry's reaction. He was desperately hoping that hers would be the same. "It's a light switch, Ginny. It turns the lights on and off." As it was a stormy day outside, when Dudley turned the kitchen light off and on, Ginny gasped at the light difference. When he moved a part of the contraption up, there was a sudden light coming from the ceiling of the room. When he moved the same part, the light coming from the ceiling went out again. Ginny was transfixed. She couldn't believe it. It was like magic, yet it wasn't. She could suddenly understand every time her father came home with his mind only on a muggle contraption he had chanced upon that day. It amazed her how muggles had compensated for their inability to not do magic.

"We don't have one of these in our house." She said as Dudley gestured to the wall, allowing her access to the typical (to him) switch.

"Oh really?" This was it, his chance to hear the same answer again! Harry was curious but suddenly caught on to Dudley's plan. Although he loved his best mate, he just couldn't let up this chance to see the same discomfort on her as he'd had all those years ago. "What do you use for light then?"

Both boys snickered. She didn't notice this as she was still enthralled by the light switch. "We use lanterns. You know, the things you carry around with fire in them." Dudley and Harry stopped their quiet laughter. Harry's answer had been, 'Mum's wand', as they still used light switches in his house. Unlike Dudley, though, he never had to touch them as he could just make the lights go on. Both boys hadn't realized that the Weasleys didn't even have _electricity_. The two eight-year-olds looked at each other and back to the little red headed girl.

"Anyway," Dudley said to break the tension, "why don't we just grab the snacks that we came over here to get and go play in my room."

"Okay." Harry said as Dudley and he walked over to the refrigerator to grab some sodas. Ginny, unsure of what to do, offered her help. Dudley handed her a bag of Doritos and the three young ones headed upstairs.

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><p>"Lil, I'm just not quite sure what to do anymore. I mean, he never tries to hurt Dudley, but on more than one occasion now, he's hurt me. I don't want Dudley growing up like this!" Petunia told her sister, completely exasperated.<p>

"Tuney, look. You need to get your act together. I know you love him but there is a time when you just need to pull the trigger and leave. I know you don't want to, but sometimes you need to choose your priorities, and honestly, if I were you my absolute top priority would be to make sure that Dudley's home life was good. You do know that that offer at my house is still available? I can add some extension charms to add another two rooms. We already have a guest room but we can always add one for you and one for Dudley."

Petunia sighed. "Thanks, Lils. You really are the best sister ever. At the same time though, I think I'm going to give him another chance. Just one more this time, I promise." Lily sighed. _When was her sister ever going to see exactly who that man is?_ She thought to herself, _Oh well. As soon as I get home I am going to add those two rooms anyway. Just on the slight chance that she really might figure it out and leave the vermin. I mean… Vernon._

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><p>Ginny, Harry, and Dudley were in Dudley's only room playing a game of Monopoly. Since it was a muggle game, Ginny had never played before and Harry and Dudley were letting her win, big time. They smiled at each other as Ginny broke into a peal of laughter when she bought the Reading Railroad, completing her monopoly of the railroads.<p>

"Man, Gin! How am I supposed to play the game when you're so good at it!" Harry said, a playful look in his eye that Ginny failed to notice.

"I don't know, Harry. You'll just have to learn to get better. You're getting beat by your best mate. How does it feel?" she asked him slyly, just happy to be winning.

"Ugh, it's terrible. I've never felt worse in my life!" Harry said. At this, Ginny looked slightly conflicted and sad. Suddenly, Dudley's laughter broke their moment.

His whale-like laugh was louder than any Ginny had ever heard before and the wizard and witch couldn't help but join in to Dudley's contagious laugh. Dudley was laughing so hard, in fact, that not only could he not breathe but there were a few stray tears that fell from his eyes.

"Harry! Guess what I just figured out!" Dudley said, between his laugter.

"What, Dudders?" Harry said, the Monopoly board completely forgotten in the minds of the children.

"YOU HAVE COOTIES!" Dudley yelled. Ginny looked confused while Harry's face burst into a shade of red that rivaled Ginny's hair color.

"I DO NOT! Plus, there's nothing wrong with having a friend who happens to be a girl!" Harry fought back.

"You mean a girlfriend?" Dudley smirked. He was hoping that his cousin wouldn't know what the term was.

"Ya, I guess you could call her that. I didn't know they had a term for girls who were your friends!" Harry said, already over Dudley's tease (or so he thought).

"HA! You just called her your _girlfriend_! That means you have to get married. Sucks for you since marriage is terrible according to my dad. He says it's because you're tied to a 'stupid woman' your whole life." By this time, Ginny was sitting with her fake Monopoly money, eyes open and her jaw almost touching the floor. Being a girl, she knew _exactly_ what a girlfriend was, what marriage was,and what cooties were.

"Well, for starters, Ginny isn't stupid. She's really smart." Harry gave Ginny a smile. Noticing this, she hastily collected her jaw from the floor, blushed, and returned his smile. _He really is sort of adorable_, she thought. "And plus, Molly, Ginny's mum, isn't stupid and she's married to Arthur which means it can't be that bad. Actually, I think Arthur likes your mum quite a lot, doesn't he, Gin?" Harry looked at Ginny expectantly.

"Um, ya. He really loves her, in fact."

"What? I didn't know that married people could love each other. I just thought that was between a parent and their kid or other kids. I didn't know that was like, a universal thing." Dudley said, his teasing tone gone and his shock evident in his voice.

"Well, of course people have to love each other. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many married couples in the world!" Ginny exclaimed. "You have a really weird view of marriage anyway. Harry, we should show him what it's like to be married! Marriage can be fun! Why don't we play house for the rest of the day? You can be my husband, I'll be your wife, and Dudley can be our baby!" Ginny said, exuberantly.

"Hey, that doesn't sound like a bad idea!" Harry said, knowing that Dudley's home life wasn't that great. He wanted his cousin to learn how to have _real _fun, like they used to have when they were kids together. Lately, though, he seemed to be getting sadder and sadder every time he visited.

"Wait! Before you have a kid, you have to get_ married_ first, right? My mum has dragged me to a few weddings. She always forgets people's names, so she brings me along because when I introduce myself, they introduce themselves to me and she learns their name again. I'll be the priest! I don't really remember much of what the bloke's supposed to say, but what I do know is that Harry, Ginny, you have to stand facing each other." Ginny and Harry followed Dudley's instructions and waited for him to continue. Instead, he took his position where the priest was supposed to go. "Okay, well, um, then the guy says a bunch of things. Then you're supposed to each say "I do" individually. Do that now."

The two children exchanged their own version of vows through their fits of giggles. Dudley was beginning to get flustered, trying to remember what was supposed to happen next. "OH! And then you're supposed to kiss the bride, Harry! Kiss her!" Harry and Ginny blushed and he gave her a peck on the cheek. "No, no, no, not like that! You're supposed to kiss her on the lips!" Dudley grinned, trying to hold in his laughter at his cousin's face. Harry was suddenly so red that he was almost purple. _Just like my Dad._ Dudley shook himself out of his memory just in time to see Harry lean over and kiss Ginny on the lips.

Unable to miss this amazing opportunity, Dudley began to sing out loudly, "HARRY AND GINNY SITTIN' IN A TREE! K-I-S-S…" in the middle of his taunt, Dudley's voice suddenly disappeared as his mouth continued to move. When he realized there was no sound, he stared at the two magical children whose eyes were full of laughter. Suddenly, Ginny couldn't help herself any more, and giggles escaped her control. Harry and Dudley soon followed. It was quite the odd sight; three laughing children, but noise was only coming from two.

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><p>"Anyway, so tell me more about your garden club?" Lily asked her sister. They found that with one of them living in the magical world, the two of them never ran out of things to talk about.<p>

"Well, my friend Elizabeth started it. She decided that she wanted to actually learn about gardening instead of just pulling out the weeds and buying the prettiest plants. So she got a bunch of us together and once a week we discuss one thing each of us has learned about a new plant. It really is quite interesting."

"Oh, wow. It sounds a bit like…" before Lily could continue, three pairs of steps came thundering down the stairs.

"MUM!" One of the boys shouted.

"What?" Both sisters answered out of reflex. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Mum, Ginny accidentally silenced Dudley. Can you fix him, please?" Harry asked.

"What have you children been doing up there?" Lily asked, teasing them. The three children blushed and Lily smiled. "I guess I'll have to fix you Dudley. Stand still, alright?" Lily asked him before she said the counter curse.

"THANK YOU AUNT LILY! Ginny, you are so going to pay for this!" Dudley said to a now scared Ginny. Her eyes grew wide and she sprinted up the stairs, trying to go before Dudley could follow. Of course, Dudley couldn't let a good chase go by. Harry just gave his mother a look, and followed them.

"Be more careful next time!" Lily shouted behind them. She looked over to her sister, who appeared to have been holding in her chuckles until the children had left. Lily rolled her eyes at her sister and they continued their conversation. "So where were we… oh I think I was about to relate your garden club with a herbology club my friend Molly joined a few years back…"

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><p>Lily, Harry, and Ginny were on the doorstep of Number Four Privet Drive, saying goodbye to two of the Dursleys that lived there. Dudley, Harry, and Ginny were having their own goodbye, separate from the two sisters'.<p>

"So Dudley," Harry said, "did we change your mind about how marriage is?"

The three had continued to play their game of house as soon as they had gotten back upstairs after Lily had given Dudley his voice back. "You know," he replied, "I really think you did. Marriage _could _be fun, as long as it's with the right person. I guess I'll never really be able to see it since my dad is just a big meanie anyway. In all honesty, I'm not really sure why my mum and dad are still married. It's quite a mystery to me."

They were silent for a moment while Ginny and Harry were trying to find a way to respond. "Well, Dudley, I really hope your dad learns to be nicer somehow. And good luck, just in case you need it." Ginny said and gave Dudley a peck on the cheek.

"Wife, what are you doing? Having an affair with my own cousin? My own flesh and blood?" Harry said dramatically, making the other two laugh.

"Well, I guess we're married beyond the game too." Ginny said, chuckling.

"Why, of course my dear." Harry said as cheekily as he could before taking her hand and giving it a slobbery, wet kiss.

"Ew! Harry that's so gross!" Ginny squealed, grabbing the attention of the two adults.

"Alright, children, let's go." Lily said.

"Bye, Aunt Petunia! I hope I'll see you soon!" Harry said as he ran up to his Aunt and gave her a big hug.

"Goodbye, Harry. I hope so too." She said. She looked over to the girl who had reminded her of Lily so much when she had first seen her. "And goodbye to you too, Ginny. Good luck with all of those brothers of yours. I really don't know how you do it!" She said, laughing.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Dursley! Thanks so much for having me." Ginny smiled. Lily rushed the rest of the goodbyes along and got into her car and drove away.

_Wow, _Dudley thought, _I really hope I can find a friend like Harry has. Or better yet, a wife._

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><p>I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!<p> 


	8. Before Hogwarts: To Bid Adieu

I know it's Friday, and I usually only update on the weekend, but you guys have been waiting long enough!

Wow do I feel like a horrible, bad, no-good writer. I'm so sorry for not updating earlier! I had a few family issues come up one after the other that simply needed to be attended to. But I have a longer-than-usual chapter here for you so I hope you guys can forgive me! And i recieved so many wonderful reviews from all of you! Thank you all so much! Now, enjoy this new chapter! Draco finally makes his return :)

Thanks to my beta, Stephanie.O (I remembered the comma before your name! :D)

Disclaimer: Although I wish that I owned Harry Potter, I sadly don't.

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><p>Harry woke up early the next morning after his visit to his Aunt Petunia's to the sound of an owl hooting outside his window. Curious as to who would be trying to write him specifically, he opened the window. The black owl flew in and dropped a simple small letter on the small desk that Harry had proudly inherited from his father. The owl sat on the desk. Apparently, whoever had written the letter to him, fully expected a reply. Harry walked over to the letter and read his own full name written neatly in what appeared to be a woman's writing in cursive. He opened the letter to see a very shaky hand that appeared as if it were a younger writer, just learning to write.<p>

September 6th, 1988

_Dear Harry,_

_Although you instructed me to write to you much earlier, this is the first I've had the chance to sit down and write to you as I've had a few difficulties in learning my letters. At least, that's what my mother said. You may be confused as to whom this is. I'm Draco Malfoy._

Harry looked up from the writing and smiled at the remembrance of his old friend who he'd almost forgotten about.

_Unfortunately, although I've wanted to write to you for a while, I have kept my wish to keep in contact with you hidden because my Father would disapprove. Mother caught me writing a draft of the letter I wanted to send you after all of these years and agreed to help me. She says she's going to write your name on the top of the letter to make it "legible". Also, when you reply, make sure that you use this owl and this owl only to communicate with me. Mother says that we have to keep him from finding out or I'll get in trouble and from that point on there would be nothing my mother could do to help me. Mother also says that if we become good friends, we'll have to keep it hidden from the rest of the world because we could get in trouble. We could play a game. We could play actors that hate each other but are secretly best friends! It would be fun!_

_ On a different note, I thought I should tell you more about myself as we met for only a short period of time when we were much younger. My name is Draco Malfoy and I'm a Pureblood. Mother and Father tell me all the time that this fact makes me better than everyone else. I'm not exactly sure if I really believe them or not simply because I haven't met everyone else. Don't you think that would be slightly judgmental of everyone else?_

Harry chuckled and suddenly decided that there might be a way for his old friend to escape the life that his Father obviously had planned for him. He'd heard many stories from both Sirius and Remus of men fighting for the other side and silently hoped that he could help Draco avoid this fate.

_Anyway, I have no siblings and I'm an only child. Mother wants me to add that you're very good family friends and live with her cousin, Sirius Black, in case you didn't know that. I guess that makes us kind-of cousins if you think about it that way. I've always wanted a brother or a sister, but Mother tells me that you don't have any siblings either. She seems to know everything about everyone. I don't know how but she does. Mother and Father always have me play with some of their friends' children. Some of them are such idiots though that I cannot stand it. They don't even know what half of the words I use mean! Anyway, I've talked long enough. Please reply. I'd really like to get to know you better, Harry Potter. _

_ Draco Malfoy_

Harry was stunned. At first he didn't know what to do. Should he write a letter all by himself? He knew from the way that Draco was forming his sentences that his mother was helping him a great deal and there was no way he could write with the same complexity. So, although it was eight in the morning and Lily needed to go to work soon, Harry called his mother to his room and showed her the letter.

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><p>Draco sat in his room, still waiting for the reply to the letter that he had sent two days ago. He was beginning to lose hope that he would ever get a reply or that Harry even remembered him, when he heard a tapping coming from his window. The black owl that his mother had bought him to only be his had finally returned. He was ready to jump for joy when he slid open the window, allowing the bird to enter. It placed the response in his hand and flew out of the window, supposedly heading to the Malfoy owlery. Draco ripped open the letter with enthusiasm but not before noting that like his original letter, the name was written on the top with girly writing,<p>

_September 7__th__, 1988_

_Dear Draco,_

_ Like your Mother, my Mum has told me a lot about your family in the past half hour. I understand why your Dad wouldn't approve of our friendship, but I most definitely want to give it a try anyway. As a halfblood with a Mum who was born a Muggleborn, I must say that I agree with your idea that saying that you're better than everyone else _is_ very judgmental. Although I have no brothers and sisters, I've grown up with the Weasley family. They act as almost brothers to me and their younger sister and their youngest brother are my best friends in the world. Their names are Ginny and Ron. You met them in the restaurant the same day that you met me, if you remember everything._

Draco smiled. He did remember Ginny and Ron. They were the two redheads who seemed to follow Harry everywhere.

_I'm really glad to have all of them. It makes everything a little less lonely. And my Uncle Sirius seems to know everything about everyone as well. And the fact that you are related to him is awesome. He's an amazing person and an even funnier Uncle! Although my mum doesn't want me to say this, he's the best person to go to if you ever want to play a prank!_

_ When referring to your situation with your Father, I must say that I hope that I sent this letter correctly. I really don't ever want to be enemies with you, even if we are just pretending. I've always believed in being yourself and showing your true colors even when everyone else will think differently of you for it. I can't even walk in public in the wizarding world simply because Voldemort (I refuse to be afraid of a _name_) attempted to kill me as a child but that will never change who I am and who I hope to be when I am older. Just because something happens to you or your situation as a child that does not mean that I cannot be who I want to be. _

Draco knew that his message went beyond talking about his situation with the _Dark Lord_. He was trying to tell him something that Draco had always tried to do but never been able to succeed in because his Father was simply too strong of a power in his life. Independence in personality was the least of his worries. Independence in life was something that Draco now wanted more than ever.

_I want to be friends with you Draco. If that request is something that is too hard for you to complete, then I understand if you don't ever reply to this letter or talk to me again. The only way we can be friends, though, is if you talk to me in public. I'm sorry to put you into this position but it's something that I firmly believe in._

Draco knew exactly what was going on. Harry was giving Draco a reason to refute his Father publicly. Harry was giving Draco an escape route if he was willing to take it.

_Reply to this letter if you agree with me. If not, I wish you well in life, Draco. Good luck, and I truly hope that we'll be able to be friends._

_ Harry_

Draco didn't know where to start. He wasn't sure if he could call his mother in to help him. She surely wouldn't approve of this as she was the one to come up with the plan of playing a "game" in the first place. This was a decision he had to make all on his own. But was he ready to take it?

Draco knew the answer immediately. All he had to do now was find a clean parchment.

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><p>1 Year Later (September 1st, 1989)<p>

"Hurry up, Percy!" Molly Weasley shouted to her son who was the only one still not in the muggle car that they were using to get to King's Cross station. Today was September 1st and two more of her children were starting at Hogwarts.

"Come on, Mum," said George (at least she thought it was George).

"Let's just leave him here," said Fred. She sighed. They were to be first years and she just knew she was going to get plenty of letters home about the two of them.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Percy, soon to be a third year at Hogwarts, shouted as he slid into the open car door and slammed it shut.

"Finally." Charlie, who was starting his sixth year, sighed to himself quietly. He couldn't wait to get to the station. He hadn't seen his best friend and the girl he liked, Nymphadora Tonks, all summer as she was gone with her parents on a trip to visit her father's muggle family.

"Now I will have none of that. I'm sure everyone has everything now and we don't have to worry about that. We need to go now, though, since Lily and Remus have been waiting in the car behind us patiently with Ron, Ginny, and Harry. Now make the car move, Arthur!" Molly said exasperated. She just wanted to get to the train station soon as she looked at the clock which read 10:24.

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><p>"Harry, stop rubbing your make-up." Lily quietly scolded her son. She had painstakingly covered her son's famous scar with her own muggle cover-up as wizards had yet to come up with a spell to hide or simply get rid of huge scars. Unfortunately, her nine-year-old son simply couldn't understand the fact that when you rub make-up, it has a tendency to go away. She had also changed both her and her son's eye and hair color temporarily. It was her conditions for letting Harry come to say goodbye to Fred and George.<p>

"Sorry, Mum. It's just so itchy!" He said, deflated. His hand snapped down to his side as Ginny giggled at him from behind.

"Now," Molly Weasley said, directing her family towards platform 9 ¾, "just run right through it. Don't worry about not going through. You will. Charlie, you're first." Charlie nodded at his Mum and ran his cart and himself directly through the wall. All of the children besides Percy, who had already done the task of going through the barrier, had wide-eyes.

"Wicked." Both twins said to each other at the same time.

"Percy, you're up next."

"Yes, Mum." Percy said before smiling and running through the wall.

Arthur smiled and followed his two sons and Fred and George, respectively (Molly thought), who had just gleefully run through the barrier cracking jokes the entire time.

"Lily, Remus, I have to go help them and make sure they have their trunks on the train. I trust you'll get these three across." Molly said as she followed her husband and older children.

Lily turned to her son and his best friends. "Are you three ready? You heard what Molly said. Don't be afraid and you'll make it through the barrier just fine." She watched and smiled as Harry discretely grabbed Ginny's hand. Remus went first to make sure the children had someone to see when they appeared on the other side. She had Ron run through first, followed by both Ginny and Harry who were still holding hands. For the first time since getting on the train after the Easter break of her Seventh year, she went through the barrier herself.

The Hogwarts Express itself had not changed at all in the little more than twenty-one years that she hadn't seen it. She smiled as she saw all of the muggleborns. They were obvious as they were the ones without parents by their sides as they had to leave them behind the barrier. She could remember all of the annoying times spent on the platform with The Mauraders and James and the beginnings and endings of innocent school years. Even Severus came to mind as she thought of the happy days that she spent at the platform. Looking down, she saw three children looking at the train with glee, most likely filled with the same awe that filled her when she first looked at the same magical machine. Remembering why they were there, her head snapped up as Remus attempted to catch her attention.

"Lily, are you listening to me?" He asked with a slight smirk on his face, knowing that she was lost in her own thoughts and memories just as he had been before Harry had tugged on his pant leg to ask him if they could go over by Fred and George.

"Oh, sorry Remus, what were you saying?"

"Well, I think it would be okay if the kids went to help Fred and George find some little friends as we all know that they're going to need all the help that they can get." He said, trying to hide the mirth that was glowing from his eyes.

"Of course! I see a few people who I should be social with anyway. Is that Andromeda Tonks? And Ted? Harry, go ahead and find Fred and George. Just make sure that you find Remus and me as soon as the train is out of sight, okay?" She said to her son, smiling at the reaction on his face.

"Thanks, Mum! Love you!" Harry shouted as he ran through the crowd with his two best friends close on his tail.

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><p>"Fred! George!" Harry shouted to his pseudo-brothers who were trying to lift one of their trunks into the train's compartment together, along with another boy and girl who appeared to be their age.<p>

"Harry!" Both twins said, "we're glad to see you!"

"It's creepy how they do that." Ginny muttered to the other two. Ron couldn't help his laugh as Harry bit his lip in an attempt to control his own laughter.

"Do you two need help? Of course, I already see that you've made a few friends."

The four soon-to-be first years finished getting the trunk on the train. The two students that Harry didn't know both smiled to him and walked over to the trio.

"The name's Angelina Johnson. I'm going to be a first year with these here boys. You know the twins?"

It was Ginny's turn to talk. "Unfortunately, they're my brothers. I'm Ginny Weasley, and this is my brother, Ron." She gestured to Ron and then looked at Harry, silently asking if she should tell her his name. She knew his answer almost immediately from his uncomfortable stance. "And this is our best friend, Harry." Ginny looked at Angelina and smiled, hoping that she hadn't noticed her slight hesitation in introducing him. Thankfully, before Angelina could respond, the boy that they didn't recognize came up to them.

The boy held out his hand to Ginny and said, "Lee Jordan at your service. Are you related to these two blokes? I see you have the brilliant red hair." Lee smiled at her and winked as she blushed.

"Oi, Lee. And here we thought," said one of the twins,

"that you were an alright bloke." Said the other. Ginny knew that the first was George and the second was Fred. Everyone else was left questioning.

"That's our sister. No flirting." They said together. Ginny began to laugh as Harry's uncomfortable feeling began to leave him. He still didn't like the fact that Gin had spoken for himself.

"I'm Ron Weasley, their brother." Ron said as he stepped forward to Lee and Angelina. "And if you didn't get it from earlier, this is my sister Ginny and our best friend, Harry Po-"

"-tts. Hi. I'm Harry Potts." Harry interrupted his best friend before he could blow his cover. It wasn't that he didn't trust Fred and George's judgment, it was more that Harry didn't want to have to deal with the stares and the surprises from every single person on the platform. It was also clear to him that both of the twins' new friends clearly didn't believe Harry at all. Thankfully, Harry was literally saved by the bell.

The train horn whistled and the students quickly scampered onto the train. Suddenly Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Cedric Diggory saying a quick "Hello" to him as he ran to the train himself. Harry and the Weasley children replied similarly as Molly Weasley had often babysat for Cedric when they were younger. Knowing that her brothers were soon to leave for almost an entire year, Ginny turned to her twin brothers with a watery smile.

"Promise me you'll write."

"Of course we will, Gin," said Fred.

"Who else do we have to tell the stories of our soon to be legendary pranks?" George said to her with an added wink from his twin.

"We promise not to forget you, Gin. Right Gred?" Fred said, the new nickname surprising all three of the younger children.

"That's right, Forge. We promise to continue to remember you. And write you." George said, quickly following the schemes of his twin.

"Good." Ginny said. "Now get on that train or you'll be late."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile…<p>

"Lily, how wonderful it is to see you!" Andromeda Tonks said to her long-term family friend. "And Remus! I haven't seen you in ages! It's at least been since last February! How have you been?"

"Tonks!" Nymphadora Tonks heard from behind her as her parents talked to Aunt Lily and 'Uncle' Remus, who she desperately wished was not listed in the "Uncle" category.

"Charlie!" she said as she turned around to give her best friend a hug. Although he was in a different house than her, she still considered him a better friend than any in her house. Sometimes she wishes she were a Gryffindor so that she could spend more time with him and his friends from the Gryffindor Quitddich team before remembering how hard it is to live with stubborn people.

While Tonks was lost in her straying thoughts, Charlie's eyes were locked onto Remus who was staring at his best friend's back. Charlie was aware of Remus' more-than-friendly thoughts of her, even if he himself wasn't aware of them. He hugged her tighter and began to concentrate more on the girl that he was hugging.

* * *

><p>Lily and Remus were bantering in the front seats while Ron, Ginny, and Harry were quiet in the back seats. Ginny refused to cry in front of everyone as she was stubborn as a mule, but she secretly missed her brothers more than she could explain. A sudden thought came to her head that scared her more than anything else in the world. "Harry? Ron?" She whispered. She really didn't want her Aunt Lily and Uncle Remus to hear one of her biggest fears.<p>

"Ya, Gin?" Both boys replied at the same time and laughed. Unfortunately all their synchronized answer did was remind Ginny of the twins.

"Guys, promise me that you won't forget me when you go to Hogwarts without me." She said quietly. Her statement surprised both Ron and Harry.

"Gin, don't even worry about it. We aren't going to be at Hogwarts for two-"

"Ron, shut-up. Of course we won't forget you, Gin. You're our best friend." Harry said as he snaked his arm around her shoulder while glaring at Ron.

The car ride after was quiet as could be, disregarding the ignorant continuing banter in the front. This quietness was filled with a calmness not met by the usual awkwardness that would have ensued. Harry was doing his best to comfort Ginny while Ginny was simply glad that at least her best friend understood her even if her brother didn't. Ron was simply stunned by a realization that many brothers don't have until their sisters are much, _much_ older.

* * *

><p>Wow that's long :) I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry about the suspence as to what Draco's going to write! But, I will have you know that I'm already more than 1,000 words into the next chapter. You'll find an answer to your current question there but unfortunately for you, you'll be asking a question that you won't be finding out for AT LEAST six chapters. Sorry guys :)<p>

Please review! It will make my day! Thanks!


	9. Before Hogwarts: Daisies and Camellias

Wow. I feel like a terrible person inside. I'm verry sorry for not updating but between going on vacation and my cousin staying with me for three weeks, I simply lost track of time. Please forgive me! Don't lose your patience with me quite yet :)

For those of you who are getting a second update on this chapter, my beta, Stephanie.O got my story back to me so now the chapter is betad. Thanks so much Steph!

One more thing i wanted to mention before you guys read, is that i had a very dissapointing number of reviews for my last chapter especially after the large amount of reviews that i got for the chapter before it. With this new reviewing set-up, it's much easier to review. So PLEASE do! I want to know what you guys are thinking about my story! I know how many of you click on the story aleart button. I get an email every time you do!

Now enjoy!

Disclaimer: I dont own Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>September 9th, 1989<p>

Draco pulled out a new piece of parchment. He'd been secretly corresponding with his best friend, Harry Potter, for over a year now. His mother never got to see Harry's reply to his letter that they had crafted so carefully together. She'd let him put in the sentence referring to blood status not only to test Harry's beliefs but also test his strings of friendship. He was sure that in her eyes, Harry had failed her test. Draco had a feeling that she knew he was still writing Harry but there was nothing she did about it. For some reason, she seemed to be simply letting Draco have his independence. Even if it was in just this little thing, he was happy to have some for once.

_Dear Harry,_

_ Doesn't it seem strange that in less than two years we will be walking the halls of Hogwarts as students? How was your visit to the platform? Sorry I didn't get to reply earlier, but my family and I were traveling in France and you know that I can't answer while in France or my father will notice. _

_ Anyway, back to the subject. What house do you think you want to be in? No matter what houses we are in, I still want to be friends – or at least to continue our written friendship. My reasons for that are later in this letter, but I digress. The more I've thought about the question, the more I've decided that I desperately do not want to be in Slytherin or Hufflepuff. My reasons for not wanting to be in Hufflepuff are obvious._

Draco chuckled as he brought in this argument that the two boys had discovered would spark a debate between them. Draco hadn't known that he had a cousin (full cousin, not a half or step or second cousin) that was currently in the house as a sixth year whom he had never met. It was quite a surprise to him. He still argued that the house was useless simply to play with Harry. The idea of Tonks and her dream to be an Auror made her gain respect in his eyes – even if she was a halfblood. Draco finished his letter and folded it neatly, putting it into an envelope. The rest of the letter's contents made him feel as if he'd passed a milestone. And Harry was the only one that would hopefully ever know what he said. As long as he crossed his fingers and hoped.

* * *

><p>Harry couldn't believe what Draco had written. While the middle section of the letter about his true feelings of Slytherin were surprising, what surprised him more was his ending of his letter.<p>

_ While all of those ideological house arguments are quite relevant, there is something going on in this house that I have a feeling pertains to you. My father is talking of plans to find some notebook that seem shady. With his constant secret meetings with people that I know to be former Death Eaters, I am feeling uneasy. To make matters worse, while we were in France, my father seemed to have a specific mission. One night, when my parents thought I was asleep, your name came up in their conversation. While I strained to hear what they were saying, I couldn't and I'm so sorry about that. Although you shot down my offer vehemently and while you know I agree to why you shot it down, a new idea came to me that I fully believe you should consider. This may be very Slytherin of me to suggest, but you might need a spy, Harry. We could pretend to be enemies and it would still be a game that we could play. If I'm in a different house than you, no one would ever suspect anything. I could be your inside link to the Death Eaters and what's left of Voldemort's followers. From what my father has been saying, it seems that membership is suddenly on a rise. While I don't fully understand what's going on, I could be a useful spy to you Harry. Please consider this. _

_ Draco_

Harry took a deep breath. There was a ton of information here that his nine-year-old brain was left to process. As the information rolled through his head, he realized that these letters could no longer be shown to his mother. Their correspondence now included something that had been a very _extremely_ fragile factor that seemed to be almost nonexistent: trust. With this single letter, Draco had enclosed more information than he ever had. His doubts about his father's beliefs weren't very strong but with time, Harry found that they were beliefs that he could deal with. With this one letter, Draco gave Harry all the trust that he had. Harry quickly pulled out a parchment and scribbled out his long and serious reply.

(A/N: I know you guys are going to kill me for not including all of that information –especially about his true feelings about Slytherin – but you'll find everything out later, I promise!)

* * *

><p>January 3rd, 1990<p>

"Mum, can I please get a broom?" Harry asked for (at least what seemed to be) the hundredth time that day.

"Harry, you know full well that not only do we have plenty of brooms at home, but that you're not even allowed on a broom until you learn how at Hogwarts. I will not have you be one of those annoying pureblood boys who know exactly what they're doing on a broom. While I know you're not pureblood and I know that you would never flaunt whatever talents you might have on a broom, I'm not one to break rules and I think it would be more fun to learn that way anyway." Lily finished her speech knowing that her real reason for not letting Harry have his own broom was because she was afraid he would hurt himself. He was so skinny and young that she just didn't think he'd be able to hold onto the broom at nine.

Lily and Harry were walking down the frigid streets of a wintery muggle London, about to enter the Leaky Cauldron. They had been doing some muggle shopping for the few personal muggle products that, although she was sure there were perfectly fine wizarding versions, she simply had to have.

"Mummy!" Lily heard a young girl's voice from behind her just as she had opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron part-way. "Why don't we go there for lunch? I'm hungry and I don't want to walk any further."

"What are you talking about sweetheart? There aren't any restaurants or pubs on this block." The clueless mother asked her daughter.

Lily opened the door all the way. Harry turned around to look at the bushy-haired muggle girl who was pointing at his mother and him. He flashed the girl a smile and walked in. Lily, on the other hand, understood exactly what was going on. _There aren't any restaurants or pubs on this block_. The small girl was a muggleborn, just like her. She turned around and looked at the brown, bushy-hair on the girl who appeared to be just as old as her own son. She remembered how lucky she was that she had Severus to tell her about the magical world before she got her letter from Hogwarts. Unfortunately, she knew that if she tried to tell this little girl that she was a witch, her parents would most likely think she was absolutely nuts and ignore her.

Meanwhile, the little girl kept pointing at her and the building itself. "Sweetie, that's nothing but an abandoned shop. Calm yourself down. We're on our way to eat." The little girl stopped pointing but continued to stare at Lily. Not knowing what else to do, Lily simply winked at her and followed her son through the door. Her son looked at her, puzzled.

"Don't worry, Harry. Someday you'll know that little girl. And I'm confident that you'll never treat her differently."

* * *

><p>June 8th, 1990<p>

"Harry, Ginny, Ron!" Molly Weasley shouted to the children who were in the backyard taking their break from her tutoring. Although they didn't know it, today they wouldn't be returning to their lessons until an hour after lunch. Xenophilius Lovegood had asked her to watch Luna again as he had to get an article done and his wife had to finish a few specific parts of a new spell that she was creating. Molly's personal opinions of both of their work were kept to herself as she knew that all of the children were good friends.

The children came running into the house, laughing. "Luna!" Ginny shouted as soon as she saw the young, spacey blonde.

"Ginny Weasley. Oh, how nice it is to see you. You look happy." Luna said to her ginger friend.

"Why thanks! So do you!"

"Luna! How are you?" Harry asked. Neither Harry nor Ron exactly spent much time with Luna, as Ginny and Luna usually spent their time apart from the boys in Ginny's room. Harry preferred to leave out the fact that he and Ron didn't exactly mind that fact.

"Good. How are you, Harry Potter? And you, Ron Weasley?" Luna asked as she looked at the boys.

Ron suddenly felt uncomfortable under the young girl's gaze. "Just fine. The usual, really."

"Now, since Luna is here and she isn't leaving until about one, I'll let you take a break from your lessons until she leaves." Molly said to them as she watched their faces light up. "And, since you've been very good lately, I'll even let you take a walk to the town and visit Lily."

"Really?" Ginny said. Harry and Ron began cheering as Molly continued talking.

"Wait just a minute before you begin cheering." The boys quieted down quickly, not wanting to anger Mrs. Weasley. "You're only allowed to go to the flower shop and back. I know how long it takes to get there and how long it takes to get back. We're going to eat first though, okay? I don't want Lily to have to worry about feeding you."

They responded with a chorus of agreements. Even Luna seemed excited for the trek that Mrs. Weasley had never allowed them on alone. She gave each child a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich that she had prepared for them only a few minutes earlier. As the children quickly finished, they gathered by the door.

Molly watched her two youngest children and the two children that she'd watch grow up and sighed. Her babies were finally growing up just like the rest of her children, even if they would always remain babies in her head. "Be careful!" She shouted as the excited children closed the door behind them.

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Potter?" Ginny and Ron called out as soon as they entered the jingling door of the muggle flower shop.<p>

Luna paused at the door and took a big breath, smelling the scent of the flowers as Harry watched the other two children run off to the back of the store to find Lily. "This is gorgeous, Harry. I really love flowers." This, of course, was a fact that Harry already knew and Harry had an increasing suspicion that her love for the pretty plants was the reason why Mrs. Weasley had let them go.

"I thought that you would appreciate it." Harry said to her with a smile.

"Harry! Luna! What a nice surprise!" Harry heard his mother's voice call. Obviously, Ron and Ginny had succeeded in finding her.

"Mum! Hello! Sorry if we're disturbing you but Luna came for a visit and Mrs. Weasley said we could come and visit you!" Harry said into his mother's stomach as she had just engulfed him into a huge mother-bear hug.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter." Luna quietly said as she watched the scene unfold in front of her, remembering her mother's promise to let her watch her work for the first time when she got home.

"Oh, hello there, Luna." Lily said to the smiling girl dressed in a pale yellow dress. She turned her attention back to her son. "Harry, as you know I'm working, I need to go tell Susan that I'm taking my lunch break, okay? Then we can go sit outside and eat my lunch."

"Okay, mum. But don't worry about us. We already ate so you can eat that yourself. Don't feel like you have to feed us."

"Ya, Auntie Lily. Don't worry about it." Ginny said to Lilly using the nickname for her un-related Aunt that always softened her up.

"Alright if you're sure. Just wait here." Lily said as she left the children alone in the front of the store.

Lily walked back towards her co-worker, Susan. Usually, she spent her lunch breaks alone, especially during the week days. On Saturdays though, Remus would always visit her and would sometimes bring Harry with him. Occasionally Sirius would show up with a case of butterbeer and she'd have to remind him that she couldn't drink while she was working but they would eat together anyway. She'd never had four children show up for her lunch break, especially after they'd eaten. It gave her a slight shock. It made her realize just how much her little Harry had grown up.

"Lily, isn't that your son?" Susan asked politely before she could even tell her. Susan was new at the shop but Lily could already tell that she was not only a good worker but also very perceptive of the things going on around her. While she didn't usually make friends with her co-workers simply for the fact that she was a witch, she found that she enjoyed Susan's company enough to consider crossing the bridge and befriending her even if, in her heart, she knew their friendship would have to end as soon as Susan even caught wind of her being a witch.

"Yes, he certainly is, Susan." Lily said kindly. "He and his friends decided to take a walk and visit me for lunch so I was wondering if you would mind if I took my lunch break early?"

"Oh, of course! Go right ahead! I'm sure nothing that major will happen in the next thirty minutes. Aren't there two girls over there as well?" Susan grinned as she eyed the six daisies in her hands.

"Yes there are. Why do you ask?"

"Why don't you give each of them three of these? It can be my treat." Susan said as she handed Lily the beginning of the bouquet she was about to make.

"Thanks, Susan! They'll love these! That's so kind of you. I'll see you after they leave." Lily said as she began walking towards the four children who were still waiting patiently for her.

* * *

><p>Harry smiled as he could see the top of the Burrow from where he stood. The four children were on their way back to the Burrow after having spent his mother's lunch break with her. He and the two Weasleys were currently listening to Luna go on about the meaning of daisies.<p>

"In medieval times, they used to use flowers to send messages to people. Daisies were the flowers of children and stood for innocence…" Luna's airy lecture seemed almost surreal to harry. While he knew that Luna was smart, he hadn't realized just how smart due to her usual silence. The gleeful look on her face when his mother had given her the daisies that were currently in her hand was priceless and Harry wouldn't have missed it for the world. As Luna continued to talk, her conversation began to morph into something about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and both Ginny and Harry began to lose interest. Ron was the only one still listening to Luna but he seemed to be to gathering ammunition instead of listening for pure intellectual gain. Harry could tell that Ron was constructing an argument in his head to tell her that the animal simply did not – and could not – exist.

As Harry watched the scene unfold, Ginny silently and very slickly, took Harry's hand and slowed down a little. They began separating from the group and were now a few feet behind. Not sure what Ginny wanted to talk about, Harry began the conversation with something he had been thinking about heavily before. "Ginny, what is it about Luna that has made you such good friends? I mean, she's a nice girl and all, and her strangeness is certainly entertaining and while I have no hard feelings for her, she doesn't seem like the girl that you would be best friends with. You know, the girl who knows all the messages of flowers doesn't exactly seem to match up in my head with the girl who desperately wants to fly a broom professionally, not that that's bad." Harry said with his tongue tied as he began to realize that his question wasn't exactly framed the best after he said it.

"Harry, slow down. I know what you mean. I love having Luna as a friend. She's so perceptive and knows exactly what I need, when I need it. She also has a knack for being able to make me laugh. Not to mention that sometimes, her strange rants are exactly what I need in order to think myself." Ginny said as she smiled at Harry. "Now I have a question for you." She looked down for a couple of seconds as if trying to gather her courage. "Are we still married? I know that was a fake ceremony, but it's our little secret. And I really like having that secret that no one else knows, you know?" Ginny asked as her chocolate eyes bore into Harry's emerald ones.

"Of course we are, Gin. How could we not be? We can always be married, if you'd like. Even at Hogwarts. But when we get actually married, you know like the real kind of married, I don't think we'll be able to be married any more. I'm sure that we have lots of time until then, though." Harry amended at the end after seeing Ginny's broken look.

Suddenly, Luna stopped her rant to Ron and turned around and eyed the two children behind her. She began to walk backwards as Ron turned his head around to see what was going on. He looked at Harry and they tacitly wondered together as to what Luna was doing. "You two," she began to say slowly as her eyes scrunched down and together as if scrutinizing the couple, "have Baby Amadors* that fly around your head when you walk together. It's quite interesting actually. I don't think I've ever had the chance to see them before."

Luna stopped walking and even though she was walking backwards, knew that the trail split here. One went towards Luna's house and one went towards the Burrow. "I think I'm going to head back to my house now. I think we've given my father enough time for his article and I just can't wait to watch my mom use her new spell that she's hopefully finished by now! Thanks for having me over, I really enjoyed myself. Say goodbye to your mother for me, Ginny, and make sure that you keep those Baby Amadors alive. They're absolutely adorable!"

The trio watched with their eyes wide at Luna's sudden exit. The pale, blonde girl skipped down the trail on her own to the rickety house that she called home. Ginny smiled at her friend's antics and grabbed one of each of the boys' hands. "Come on, Harry, Ron, let's go home."

* * *

><p>June 10th, 1990<p>

Lily woke up earlier than she usually did as there had been a thunderstorm the night before. She got up and continued her usual routine and added on her extra time to reading the Obituary section of the Daily Prophet, a part of the paper that she usually only glanced at. This time though, she saw something that made her stomach wrench in circles.

A picture of a smiling blonde woman with piercing blue eyes stared and waved at her. Her whimsical look about her was memorable to anyone who had ever met her.

_Camellia** Lovegood ne__é__ Bagshot – February 22__nd__, 1952 – June 8__th__, 1990_

_Camellia Lovegood passed away on Wednesday night in a tragic accident involving one of her new spells which she had been working on for some time. The funeral will take place in the small white muggle church in the town of Ottery St. Catchpole at nine on Monday. She is survived by her husband, Xenophilius, her daughter, Luna, and her mother Bathilda Bagshot._

Questions consumed Lily's mind. _Bathilda had a daughter? Wasn't Luna excited about being able to see her mother's experiment the day of the accident? How has Molly not told me yet?_

But the one thing she knew for sure was which flower shop that church used to decorate for funerals. And she also knew exactly who would be picking up the tab for the Lovegood order that came to the shop that day.

* * *

><p>*Baby Amadors – a made-up animal whose name originates from the word <em>Amo<em>, the latin word for love.

**Camellia – a flower who's meaning is Perfected Loveliness

Okay so:

1. Did you like Hermione's Cameo?

2. Yes i made Luna Bathilda Bagshot's grand-daughter. You will learn more about this relationship later in the plot line as well.

3. There is missing information from the letter that Draco wrote on purpose. Please don't kill me but this information is important to the plot line later!

Thanks for reading! Please review! A penny for your thoughts? It's so much easier to review now so I'd truely appreciate it if you did! :D


	10. Before Hogwarts: Brooms and Bets

Wow, I haven't updated in forever. I'm really sorry for that but I've had a ton of family issues and I lost my initial outline for this story when changing computers. I have plenty of excuses, but I really don't think you want to hear them. Regardless, here's the next chapter. My beta hasn't had the chance to look at it yet but thank my friend Katie for looking at it for me. She's amazing.

So, after many months of waiting, (I promise it won't be this long of a wait EVER again especially since I already have the next chapter almost finished) here it is!

BY THE WAY ~ the HGHGHG's are page breaks. I'm too lazy to put those lines in anymore.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, would I be writing this?

* * *

><p>July 28th, 1990<p>

Dudley Dursley, if James Potter hadn't had the reaction that he had to Voldemort on that fateful Halloween night, would have been Harry Hunting that very moment of that day of his life. Had James not stood his ground, Dudley would have been very over weight instead of being the slightly large athletic child that he was. Now, he towered over his peers in school but instead of being the school bully, he was known as the gentle giant that tried hard in school in an attempt to impress his mother instead of dreaming to follow his father's footsteps in becoming a bully to all, especially those who didn't have the capability to defend themselves.

No. Instead, Dudley Dursley was lying on his bed, staring at his ceiling, and gathering his courage to finally confront his mother. For over a year, he'd been contemplating whether he should tell her that he didn't like the way that his father treated her. On one hand, according to his cousin Harry Potter (who had returned to play the marriage game again with his friends Ginny and Ron), husbands were supposed to be nice to their wives, treat them with respect, and most importantly, love them. None of which, Dudley thought, he saw from his father's example. On the other hand, each point that he just brought up that his father failed to do, his mother did. His mother treated her husband like a god, and sometimes she seemed happy doing so – as long as his father wasn't violent.

Finally, on that day, he decided enough was enough. Last night, his father had slapped Petunia in the face so hard that she was thrown into the kitchen table after an especially nasty fight. It was now seven in the morning and he had been up all night making his final decision. This time, he wasn't going to back down unlike the numerous times he'd tried before. Today, he was going to tell his mother that he hated Vernon Dursley.

GHGHGHG

"Mum?" Dudley Dursley asked his mother who was crouching over the small garden that held her prized tomatoes in the back.

"Yes, Dudders?" Petunia Dursley said to her son as she put down her small shovel and removed one of her gloves in order to wipe the sweat that was dripping down her face off. She looked at him expectantly and smiled.

Suddenly, looking in her eyes, Dudleys harsh words receded and he lost the courage to say what he had in mind. Instead he simply looked at her cheek where a huge purple bruise looked like it had been poorly covered with pale pasty cover-up and asked, "Why are you married to Dad if you never have any fun?"

GHGHGHG

July 31st, 1990

_Dear Harry,_

_ Happy Birthday! It's not a Hogwarts letter, but just think - in a year, you'll be getting your Hogwarts letter today! As well as one from me, of course._

_ You've finally caught up to me! Now that we're both ten, we only have one more year until we get to see each other. I can't wait for Hogwarts. Maybe we'll get to meet up in Diagon Ally before school! I've sent your birthday present as well. I got you some Honeydukes chocolate and a Puddlemere United jersey. They're amazing and you know it. They beat the Chudley Cannons any day no matter what your friend Ron thinks! Have a wonderful Birthday! Hopefully your mum will finally let up on her broom rules._

_ Draco Malfoy_

GHGHGHGHG

"Happy Birthday to you!"

"Cha-cha-cha"

"Happy Birthday to you!"

"Cha-cha-cha"

"Happy Birthday dear Harry, Happy birthday to you!"

Harry opened his eyes groggily as his mother sang to him to wake him up as she did for each of his birthdays. For the last five years, Sirius has insisted on being her back-up. Each year, he tries to open his eyes a little faster so that he can see the weird dance that Sirius has made to go with the song. Currently, Sirius was singing a very off-tune version of "How old are you?" while shaking his butt in Harry's face. Harry watched as both his mother and Remus laughed in the doorway. Seeing Remus, he jumped up and ran to him to give him a hug.

"Remus!" Harry shouted.

"That's the thanks I get? You know I work my butt off every year to come up with a new dance for you and as soon as you wake up you hug Remus instead of me." Sirius pouted jokingly.

"I'm sorry Sirius. I'll give you a hug now!" Harry said as he let go of Remus' waist.

"Ah, that's okay, kid. Happy Birthday." Sirius said as he opened his arms to give Harry a huge hug.

"Alright, alright. Harry, get dressed quickly so that you can eat breakfast. Your birthday party is in four hours. Molly was kind enough to put it together for you so we aren't going to be late." Lily said as she left the room with Remus following her.

Sirius, unlike his friends, remained in Harry's room as the boy still had his arms surrounding him. Sirius smiled to himself as he said, "Harry. Your mother's right. You do need to get dressed. But make sure you wear that Quidditch shirt that I see there in the corner." Harry felt Sirius' arm removed from him. He watched as Sirius pointed to his new jersey he had secretly gotten earlier from Draco, before his mother had come in to wake him up.

Harry blushed quickly and looked up at Sirius. "I got that from… um… I…"

"Calm down, kid. Don't worry about it. You know you can't lie to me because I see right through you." Sirius said as he smiled down at his Godson. "And I like whatever friend sent you that. He's got good taste in Quidditch teams." Sirius said as he winked at Harry. Harry let out a huge sigh before Sirius continued his thought from earlier. "Anyway, make sure you wear that jersey and a pair of muggle jeans." He said mysteriously as he walked away with a smirk on his face that would have made James proud.

GHGHGHG

Sirius wasn't stupid. He knew of only one child whom Harry would know that would be a Puddlemere fan. Every member of the Black family, save Andromeda who changed her allegiance to the Hollyhead Harpies after her best friend got recruited, was a fan of Puddlemere United, especially Narcissa.

He was proud of his Godson for being friends with Draco despite the constant prejudices that surrounded him. While he hoped that Harry wouldn't get hurt by corresponding with Draco (he was still a Malfoy – even if he was just a kid), he worried for Draco. He assumed that Narcissa was helping to cover up the pen-pal's letters but there was only so much Narcissa could do for the boy without Lucius throwing a fit. He had a small shred of hope that the mess Lucius created would show up on his door step – just as his own father's mess had shown up on James'.

GHGHGHGHG

"One more step." Harry heard his Godfather say.

"I really hope this is worth it, Sirius." He said back. He was already on the Weasley's property, an hour before his party was to officially start, because Sirius had wanted to give Harry his gift away from muggles. What Sirius hadn't mentioned on their way over, was that he was going to blindfold Harry the moment that he reached the Weasley's front door.

"Oh, believe me, it will be." He heard Remus say from behind him.

"Ok, I'll take the blindfold off on the count of three. One," Harry's heart lept in anticipation. Sirius' gifts were always the best, "two," Sirius placed his hands on the tie of the blindfold, "three!" Harry felt the scratchy blindfold leave his face as he opened his eyes. In front of him was the newest version of the Nimbus line of broomsticks, the Nimbus 1999. Harry let out an admittedly girlish squeal, making everyone in the room laugh. He grabbed the broomstick and looked at his mother with pleading eyes.

"My gift, Harry," she said as she pulled something from behind her back, "are these riding gloves." Harry's excitement soared. "But, you cannot ride the broom without Sirius or Remus in the air with you, and you cannot take the broom to school with you next year, understood?"

Harry managed a quick, "Yes ma'am!" as he grabbed the broom and grabbed the gloves out of her hand. A train of red-haired children had formed by the time that he stopped abruptly and turned around and ran back towards his mother. He quickly enveloped her in his arms, with a quick "Thanks so much, mum," and grabbed a laughing Sirius' hand and dragged him out the door with him. He was going to fly on his own broomstick alone for the first time ever.

HGHGHG

People who Harry didn't even know had showed up to wish him a Happy Birthday, though. Dumbledore, whom he had met on a few occasions, showed up with a very nice half-giant named Hagrid. Neville, a boy who had turned ten only the day before he had, also showed up even though they'd never met. Harry had never seen so many Wizards in his life. Fortunately, none of them embarrassed themselves by fawning over him like every wizard he'd run into with his mother on special occasions when they went to wizard restaurants. A man named "Mad-eye" had scared him with a speech about "constant vigilance". It was worth it though when he watched his mother yell at the poor old man. Tonks, someone he'd met only a few times before, was the same age as Charlie and was Sirius' cousin. He had always been entranced by her different hair colors as a child and they still managed to entertain him.

Now that the main party was over, though, only his family and the Weasleys remained. His family had made the decision beforehand that he would open his presents after his guests had left as some of them couldn't afford what others could. He'd received more than one broom cleaning kit, a cool gadget called a "Remembrall" from Neville's grandmother, a defense book from Mad-eye, but nothing from Ginny. Something that he couldn't stop thinking about. In fact, it had gotten to the point where he was in the Weasley's backyard all by himself, leaning away from the house against his favorite tree. He went over in his head what he possibly could have done wrong in the past week that would have upset her but nothing came to mind.

"Hello, Harry." He heard a young girl's voice say from behind him.

He spun around quickly to see the young redhead's face. "Hey, Gin."

"How did your birthday go?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"Pretty well."

"I'm glad. Did you get the presents that you wanted?" She asked as Harry smiled about Sirius' present.

"I love the broom that Sirius got me. It's awesome."

"That's good." She said as an awkward silence sprung up between the two. Looking down at her crossed legs, she asked "I'm sorry I didn't put your present in the main pile Harry, I know that's why you're upset." Looking up at her, Harry tried to keep his surprised look off of his face. Ginny dug into her pocket and pulled out a square white piece of fabric. "I'm sorry that it's not much, but here you go." She said as she handed Harry the piece of fabric.

Harry took it with gentle hands. He looked down at it, unsure of exactly what it was. In one corner, in red and green thread, someone had embroidered _HJP_, his initials. "It's a handkerchief. I didn't have any money to buy anything for you so my mom helped me make this. It has your initials on it, see, right here." She said as her small finger pointed to the spot on the fabric. "My mom helped by casting a self-cleaning charm on it. It will stay clean no matter what." Ginny said with a smile on her face, proud of her work.

Harry gleamed at her, thankful for the small momento. "Thanks so much Gin, I love it. I'll always keep it with me, even at Hogwarts."

Ginny blushed as Harry leaned over and gave Ginny a small kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday Harry. I hope it was wonderful." She said as she leaned into him and they stared at the landscape together.

GHGHGH

"They are absolutely adorable."

"I could have told you ages ago that they would end up together."

"Not to mention that Harry managed to beat James' 'falling in love with a red head' record."

"Would you two shut it?" Lily said with a smile.

"Don't really want to." Sirius replied with a grin as Remus chuckled at his friends' antics. Sirius checked his watch. "Unfortunately for you two, I'm due at the ministry for a hearing in twenty minutes. I should be going."

"Would you like to represent the Potters again today, please?" Lily asked.

"I already sent the letter because I assumed you'd want to stay." Sirius said.

"Thanks. Something about sending someone to Azkaban simply doesn't have a nice ring to it today" Lily said with a grimace. Although she felt privileged to be a muggleborn on the Wizengamot, she was only holding Harry's place as the rightful Potter seat holder.

Sirius said his goodbyes and grabbed some of the floo powder above the fireplace and headed to the ministry. "You know, Lily," Remus said, looking at the young couple outside once more with a smile, "Harry has something that James didn't."

"Oh, really?" Lilly said, amused. "And what would that be?"

"A girl who will say yes the first time he asks." Remus said with a smirk.

Giggleing at the memories at James' failed attempts to woo her, she smiled and said, "That may be, but James had something that I fear Harry won't."

Remus turned to her with a serious face, "What do you mean?"

"I don't think he'll have the confidence to ask her the first time! Infact, I'm willing to wager that they won't be together until Harry's fifth year." Lily said to Remus, not noticing a pair of redheaded twins that were sneaking up on their conversation.

"Really, now?"

"Yes. I don't think Harry will have enough confidence to ask the girl until his fifth year."

"Well then," Remus said with a smirk, "I bet you two hundred Galleons that Harry not only asks her before his fifth year, but that she says yes the first time he asks."

"Excuse me Mr. Lupin, Mrs. Potter," Fred said

"But we couldn't help but overhear," George continued,

"That you're making a wager over when our little sister and your protégée will be getting together."

Lily and Remus looked at each other and then back at the two twelve-year-olds. Remus was about to turn them down, not expecting Lily to agree with letting underage wizards bet on anything, when Lily said, "Okay. But, you have to be over the age of seventeen when we give you the money or you give us the money."

Fred and George looked at eachother, silently communicating in their own way, before Fred said, "We'll take the deal as we don't think that they'll get together before we turn seventeen anyway!"

"Yes," George said, "we project that Harry and Ginny will get together in the middle of their sixth year but Ginny will be dating others before Harry dates others."

Lily and Remus smirked. _That will never happen. Lily never dated anyone but James and James couldn't date anyone but Lily._ Thinking the same thing as Remus, Lily said, "We'll take the deal. Loosers pay the winner or winners two hundred galleons each."

Smiling, Gred and Forge walked away, planning what they would do with their winnings.

GHGHGHGHG

An obnoxious ringing began to fill her ears as Lily woke up and looked at the clock on her bedside table. It read 12:24. _Who could be calling at this hour?_

She grabbed the phone that was sitting next to her alarm clock. "Hello?"

"Lily, thank god." She heard a panicked voice say.

"Petunia?" Lily said as she sat up. "What's wrong?"

"It's Vernon. Lily, he hit Dudley. Is that extra room still available?"

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><p>CLIFFHANGER! please review! It's so much easier now that you don't have to click an extra button. You just have to type and submit! Thanks! I appreciate your feedback!<p> 


	11. Before Hogwarts: A New Member

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE! Party it up tonight guys!

Hey everyone! Sorry this isn't up when i said it would be. Life has just been so hectic. This is one of the longest chapters yet and I really like how it turned out. Warning though, I haven't gotten it Betad yet. If there are any grammar errors I'll fix them later.

Good news though. I got into my top choice for college! Hells yes! So my new goal is to finish this story before i go to college. it will be a tough goal but i think i can get there :D so here it is! The next chapter!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I really don't. I promise.

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><p><em>Dear Draco,<em>

_ Have you ever fallen in love? I heard my mother talking about it today and I was curious about it. When I asked her, she said that it was something that people feel when they get older towards other people. I mean, I know that I love my mum and my uncles and my friends, but she said that there's a different kind of love. Like how husbands love wives. Do you think people can "fall in love" when they're our age?_

_ Now, back to our conversation about Snape. My uncle Sirius says that he's really mean. He and my uncle Remus always call him "Snevillius". I will say though, that they never talk when my mum's around. Once my mum told me that appearances aren't always who people really are but I'm not really sure if she was talking about him or not. She did mention it right after Sirius had told me a story about a prank my father and him had played on him while they were at Hogwarts._

_ Thanks for the shirt, by the way. I got it just before my mum walked in with Sirius to sing Happy Birthday to me (it's a muggle song in case you didn't know). Sirius got me a broom for my birthday and my mum let me ride it alone. That's the first time I've ever gotten to ride a broom by myself! It was amazing! Thanks again!_

_ Love,_

_ Harry Potter_

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><p>"Of course you can, Petunia! Do you need to come over now?"<p>

"Well, I was hoping that Dudley and I could come over now and we could come back to get our things later. We just grabbed enough stuff for the night and ran. I'm at a payphone at the moment."

Lily got out of bed and stood up. "When do you think you will be here?"

Petunia let out a sigh. "Well, if we have enough gas, we should be there in about two in a half hours, maybe more since it is raining outside."

"Alright, we'll be waiting and ready."

"Thank you so much, Lily. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Of course," Lily said, "This is what sisters are for, right?"

"Exactly." Petunia said with a smile. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Alright. See you at around three."

Lily hung up the phone and quickly went to Sirius' room.

The mess was appalling but there wasn't much she could do about it. She reminded herself that Sirius was a grown man and she couldn't lecture a grown man about his messy room. Walking over to the dead asleep form, she shook him gently, "Sirius," she half-whispered, "wake up, Sirius. I need your help."

After a minute, Sirius' eyes began to open slowly as he made a grunting noise. Recognizing who was waking him up, he said, "Lily? Is that you? What time is it?"

"It's about twelve thirty."

"Why are you waking me up at this ungodly hour? I'm an old man now, Lils, I need my sleep."

"I know, I know, but my sister just called. Vernon hit Dudley."

With this finally waking him up, Sirius shot up to a sitting position. "Vernon did what now?"

"Vernon hit Dudley! That's all Petunia really had time to tell me. She's heading over here now though, and we need to charm the house so that we have another two rooms, although I'm fairly certain she's only expecting one. Regardless, I still want a guest room for when Remus comes so we need a room for Dudley and we need a room for Petunia, just in case this becomes permanent. I want to put a room between yours and mine and I want to put a room next to the guest room since that's the only room on that side of the hall after you pass the stairway."

Sighing heavily, Sirius got up. "Lily, have I ever told you of my feelings towards your sister?"

"Yes, Sirius, you have and now is not the time to bring those to the surface. Just let me help my sister, Sirius."

"But she tortured you as a kid, Lils. I forgave Regulus but he never made my own life a living hell, my parents managed to do that."

Lily sighed as she handed Sirius the wand from off of his dresser that he was looking for. "She may not be perfect, but she's my sister and she's been though some tough times lately. So if she needs me, I'm going to be there for her. Even if that means that she moves in with us. Ottery St. Catchpole has a wonderful muggle schooling system…"

"Look, Lily." Sirius said, cutting off his best friend's widow, "let's talk about how permanent this is after they've moved in and after we're sure that Petunia is even going to really leave Vernon."

"I believe her this time, Sirius. The tone of her voice was so scared."

Sirius sighed. He really hated Petunia.

GHGHGHGHG

Dudley sat in the back of his mother's car, pondering what had just happened. Ever since he'd really talked to his mom for the first time about his father, he could tell that she felt weird around her husband. That night, when Vernon had been yelling at her about the laundry not being done, Dudley had finally had it. Although he knew that his parents' relationship was complicated, he knew that this kind of violence and yelling wasn't supposed to happen, at least, that's what Harry and his friends had shown him when they'd come over. Before his dad had had the chance to hit his mum, he put his chubbier body between the two. "No, daddy, I won't let you hurt mummy!"

His father had just laughed and said, "_You_ won't _let_ me hurt your mummy?_ Let?_" he said as he came menacingly closer, "You don't get to decide who I hurt and when I hurt them, do you hear me, boy? I could hurt you if I wanted to."

"But you wouldn't." He heard his mother say from behind him.

"Oh ya? Watch me."

The rest was a blur. The sting on his cheek, his mother furiously telling him to pack himself a bag. Although she told him to bring one night's worth of stuff, he'd brought half of what he owned. He secretly never wanted to come back. To help his mum, he began to pack her bag for her when he heard her shout, "I don't need you, Vernon. I have a perfectly normal sister who's willing to take me in."

"That freak?!" His father had shouted. He'd honestly wanted to defend his aunt, but he could tell that his own mum was doing a plenty fine job of that. Quietly he finished packing her bag, including those stick things that she had just bought from the pharmacy that day, and walked down the stairs, tottering like a penguin at the heavy weight of the bags.

"Let's go, Dudley. Go to the car." His mum said, handing him the keys and giving him a wink when she noticed the leather bag he'd chosen to put her clothes into.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, BOY!" His dad shouted as he ran for his life, his mother protecting his safe pathway out.

When his mother finally got out of the door, he could tell that she was not only crying, but that she was going to have a much bigger bruise on her face than he had. When had daddy gotten so mean?

Now that he had the chance to think, he realized that his father had probably always been mean but he only really noticed it as he'd gotten older and more of the attention had begun to turn to him. As he thought more about it in the early hours of that car ride, he reminded himself over and over again, _big boys don't cry_.

HGHGHGHG

"After we know how long she's moving in for, we'll go out and buy furniture since these spells, while they can last a long time, won't last forever and I want her to feel like this is her room not a generic magical one…" He was too tired to listen to this. Lily was talking to him while she was finishing up the temporary conjured furniture in Petunias new room when Sirius had his first chance to really think about the decision that Lily had just made. He really _really _didn't care for Petunia. From the stories that Lily had told her, she seemed to make Lily's life a living hell when she was a child. Even though she must have changed since then, he was afraid that she was still the same person. He may not have cared for his brother's opinions, but he'd never called him a freak.

He could remember the day that Lily had gotten Petunia's RSVP to her and James's wedding. It was a horrifying rejection. The words were engrained into his memory.

_ Dear Lily,_

_ No, I will not come to your freakish wedding. Although mum forced you to come to my wedding, I only agreed because I was afraid that mum wouldn't let dad pay for the wedding if you weren't there. I want nothing, and I mean _nothing_ to do with the horrible world that you've put yourself in._

_ Good luck with life,_

_ Petunia_

He remembered how James held her until she'd run out of tears. He smirked as he remembered the prank that he and James had left on Privet Dr. that Lily still didn't know about. Nonetheless, they had deserved it after hurting Lily so badly.

"Sirius? Sirius? Sirius, are you even listening to me?"

"Wait, what?" He said, being taken out of his stupor.

"I said that I don't think you agree with this decision based off of the look on your face. Either that or you're just really tired." Not wanting to respond, Sirius just looked at his watch and grumbled about wanting to get some sleep. It was already one thirty. With a disappointed eye, Lily looked at Sirius and said, "If you had told James that your brother had asked to live with you, to take safety from Voldemort, and that you had said yes, what would he have said?" Shocked by the question Sirius answered,

"Well, I don't know. He probably would be glad that Regulus had some sense knocked into him at some point on the line."

"Exactly. Sirius, my sister has been mistreated for almost ten years now, and I want her to have a place where she's protected." With those sad green eyes that always made him say yes to whatever she wanted, he had to give in.

"Fine, I guess James would be proud of me for letting him back into my life. Now can we move on to Dudley's room, please? I really just want to go back to sleep."

Lily smiled warmly at him as they walked to the blank spot in the wall across from Harry's room. "Thank's for understanding, Sirius. After we finish the basic structure of the room, why don't you wake up Harry and tell him what's going on. He might like to spend the night with Dudley."

GHGHGHGHG

"I can't believe we're at a real Muggle's doorstep!" Arthur said, excitement spilling out of his voice.

"Calm down a little bit, Arthur, you never know who's listening. You can't use words like that here." Said a disguised Remus. Arthur, Remus, Sirius, Lily, and Petunia were at Vernon's doorstep to get Dudley's belongings and to talk to Vernon. While the latter four blend in nicely with regular muggle clothing on, Arthur looks like a man out of time. His vest and pants make him look like he's from the fifties, about to go golfing. Petunia is glad because, while she's about to do the hardest thing she's ever done in her life, she can at least get a good laugh about this. She was glad that she was moving out though, because she couldn't live here anymore if the nice man had visited. He simply looked to odd. He wasn't normal at all.

Lily took the first step that no one seemed to want to make and rang the doorbell. After a minute of awkward lumbering that they could all hear, a red-faced and tired Vernon Dursley opened the door. "YOU!" Vernon shouted as he glanced at the strange group and locked his eyes on Lily's, "I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO BE A PART OF THIS SOMEHOW, YOU FREAK!"

"STOP YELLING AT MY SISTER LIKE THAT!" Lily heard her sister say from behind her. She was shocked at Petunia's willingness to yell at her husband.

"WHY SHOULDN'T I? YOU WERE THE ONE TO TELL ME THAT SHE WAS A FREAK!" Arthur, not prepared for the shouting match (although Petunia had given him a very fair warning) looked as if he were about to faint.

"BECAUSE SHE'S MY SISTER AND I AM GOING TO TREAT HER LIKE IT." Taking a deep breath, Petunia stood in front of Lily and looked Vernon straight in the eye. "Now move. I'm going to take mine and Dudley's stuff out of here, with the help of Lily and her friends."

"I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING! I CAN JUST STAND HERE IF I WANT." Vernon said, fuming in anger.

Although Remus had made Sirius promise to not use force, he couldn't help himself. Being an Auror, he could tell his coworkers that it was self-defense. The muggle was going to hurt his friend had he not done it.

"_Stupefy!_" He said with a strong voice. "That, my friend, was for James." He said to the fat body who's eyes were staring at him with a _very _mad look.

"Sirius, you really didn't have to do that." Lily said to him with a disappointed look knowing that he wasn't going to get in trouble for it.

"Yes I did, he would have hurt her. We were going to have to use magic eventually, he's too big for us to take down the muggle way. Plus, this way the fat guy doesn't have to get hurt."

With a playfully disapproving eye, Lily said, "Oh, Sirius, what on earth am I ever going to do with you?"

"Alright, alright." Remus said, moving the crowd of wizards inside and remembering Dudley who they had made sit on the corner so that he wouldn't see any violence that could have happened, just in case. "Let's not have talks about magic on a muggle porch. Lily, go get Dudley from around the corner. Once we get inside, Lily and I will grab the china and anything else that belongs to you and shrink it and place it in the kitchen trunk." He said, pulling a small trunk and enlarging it as Lily went out the door. Pulling another one out, he said, "Here, Sirius. Take Petunia to her room and pack up everything that belongs to her. Get the bathroom too. We don't want any of their stuff left behind." The two went up the stairs, looking as if they had a mission. "Arthur," he said, grabbing the final trunk from his pocket and enlarging it, "take this and go upstairs with Dudley when he gets here. Get everything he wants to take with him. And be careful. You can look at it later if it interests you," he said with a smirk, "but now is not the time."

Arthur laughed lightly and gave him a dazed smile. "This is my wildest dream come true, Remus. I hope you understand that. But I'll do my best to get a move on. Vinin won't be out forever!" He said as Dudley and Lily walked in.

Introducing himself to Dudley properly for the first time, the two walked up the stairs with smiles.

GHGHGHG

"So, Dudley, what's it like to live without magic?" He asked the young boy as he grabbed the object that Dudley was pointing to and shrunk it.

"Well," Dudley said as Arthur handed it to him to place in the trunk, "it's normal life I guess. I mean, I don't know what it's like to live with magic so how can I tell you what it's like to live without it?"

Arthur seemed to ponder this as he shrunk the next toy. "I do believe that you have a wonderful point, my dear Dudley. I hope that you come over to our house whenever you can when you live with your aunt and cousin. We're only a short walk away. When you're over, don't be afraid to talk to me. I just love learning about the muggle world."

"Really?" Dudley said. "Would you be willing to teach me about the wizarding world?"

Arthur's smile reached his eyes. "I would love to."

GHGHGHG

"So let me get this straight." Ron said to his best friend. "Your mother's muggle family moved in last night but your mum and your uncles can still do magic around them."

"Yep." Harry said. "Sirius flooed Mad-eye Moody last night and told him to give the house a special pass that allowed them to do magic in front of any muggle residing in the house. Otherwise, they'd be getting arrested all the time and Sirius would have to 'pull all his favors'."

"Wicked." Ginny said.

"Harry?" Luna said as she picked at the sheets on his bed. The four were laying on Harry's bed, talking about the latest development in Harry's life. Currently, Molly was downstairs with the rest of the Weasleys helping to make sure that the house was clean and safe for Petunia and Dudley and that there wasn't anything too magical that they didn't know how to use or could hurt themselves with. Harry and his friends were in charge of the upstairs but, as there wasn't much to check instead of the bathrooms, they had ended up laying on Harry's bed.

"Yea Luna?"

"Do you like your cousin?"

Unfortunately, Harry thought, this was a question that he really had to think about. "Well," he said, "I really used to hate him in all honesty. He was so spoiled when we were younger. As we got older, his father gave him less and less presents and he was more inclined to share. I guess that his father was getting meaner and meaner and he didn't really like it. Lately, and Ginny and Ron can add something to this, he's just been really curious about what it's like to have a normal family. I feel like I can never really answer him the right way but at the same time, he just wants to know what it's like to live a normal life. But does anyone have a normal life?"

The four began to ponder the question. Slowly, Luna began to get up. "I'll be right back. I think I need to use the little lady's room."

With a smile, Harry said, "Go right ahead, Luna. You know where it is."

Harry chuckled at his blonde friend. "You know," Ginny said next to him, "this is the first time she's come to hang out with us since the funeral." The boy's chuckle died as he came to the realization. "I'm glad that she did though, her father apparently hasn't been very sensible lately."

"Well, I feel like the best I can do is be nice to her. If that means listening to her speeches about mythical animals, then so be it." Ron said, making his best friend proud.

"That's all any of us can really do now, Ron. That and be there for her if she wants to talk about more than just creatures." Harry said with a smile.

"So, Harry," Ron said, changing the subject just in case Luna came back earlier than they expected her to, "what are we going to do about Dudley?"

Confused, Ginny asked, "What do you mean by that, Ron?"

"I mean, should we just include him in our group?" He clarified just as Luna walked in the door.

"Well," Harry began, "what else are we going to do about him? He's leaving his school, going to a completely different town, leaving all of his friends, even though from what I've heard from him he doesn't have that many, and entering an entirely different world. He's going to be living in a wizard's house now, you know?"

"Man, when you put it that way I feel bad just for asking the question. Of course we'll be nice to him. What will we do when we go to Hogwarts, though?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed and looked up at his cealing. "I don't know Ron, I don't know."

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><p>I hope you liked it! Have a wonderful New Year and I hope that your holidays were wonderful. Please review! I'd really appreciate it!<p> 


	12. Before Hogwarts: New Friends and Letters

I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON INSIDE I'M SO SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! I feel like a terrible person and I'm so sorry this took me so long to write. My updates will be much more consistent though, that I promise you. I was much busizer over spring break than I anticipated but now my life is going back to normal a little bit so hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon.

Happy Holy Thursday/Good Friday/Easter Vigil/Easter celebrations! Have a wonderful Triduum.

I haven't had this Beta'd yet so if there are any errors just pm me and I'll fix them. Thanks so much for being patient with me and sticking with this story! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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><p><em>Later that same night<em>

Harry gently got up, trying not to move the bed too much. He knew that Ginny was a very light sleeper so he had to be very careful. Ron was on the floor on the air mattress that practically had his name on it while Ginny lay next to him, sleeping like an angel. Harry smiled to himself. His best friends had opted to stay the night so that tomorrow, his first full day with Dudley, wouldn't be so hard. An owl was scratching at the window, and not just any owl. He managed to get out of the bed without it creaking under his bum. He silently moved his feet around the redhead on the floor on his way to his window.

He opened the window and the owl dropped the newest letter in his hand. With a smile and a whisper, he told the owl to wait for a minute. Carefully he sat down at his desk and opened the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_You do realize that we're ten, right? I haven't fallen in love yet and my mother says that I wont until I'm older and that she'd better be a Slytherin. Personally, I think she's just joking but I'm not sure. I know that I love my mother though. I think I just feel affectionate for my father. He can be really scary sometimes._

_Uncle Severus says really bad things about your uncle. No offense Harry, but its kind of funny. I don't even know what most of the words mean but the tone of his voice is just creepy. The look on his face when I mentioned your uncle was priceless. _

_I'm glad you liked it. Perfect timing it seems. And really? You finally got to ride one alone? That's so exciting, Harry! Maybe that Sirius fellow isn't so bad. _

_Write soon._

_Draco_

Harry smiled at his friend's sarcastic comments as he grabbed a new piece of parchment and a quill. He described his new situation with his cousin and aunt and sent the letter on it's way, completely ignoring the Sirius/Severus banter. He sighed happily as he turned around to get up and winced as he noticed Ginny, sitting straight up in the bed, her arms crossed and a confused glare on her face.

"Explain." She whispered.

Harry sighed; his attempt to avoid her knowing about Draco was ruined. He couldn't keep anything from her. "How long have you been up?"

"I was already up but trying to sleep. I couldn't fall asleep with Ron's snoring."

Harry chuckled. So he hadn't even had a chance.

"So who were you writing to? And who would write you at this late of an hour?"

"Draco Malfoy."

Ginny's eyes bulged. "No way."

"Yes way." Harry said as he moved back towards the bed.

"How do you even know him?"

"Well," he started, "maybe you were too young to remember but after Sirius' mother died we went to a restaurant to celebrate."

"I remember that. But I don't remember Draco Malfoy being there."

"Exactly. We ran into Draco Malfoy and we taught him how to play without cheating or paying players off. A few years ago, he wrote to me and since then we've been talking. Ginny, he's nothing like his father. In fact, he doesn't even really care for his father."

"Really? I know his father is a meanie. That's what daddy says at least."

Harry was now sitting on the bed, next to Ginny. They were slowly getting closer, although neither realized it. "Draco isn't mean at all. He's a little sarcastic, and doesn't always know when the joke is over, but he's really kind of nice. He's really funny though. If he ever meets Sirius and Sirius can get over the fact that he's a Malfoy, I think that they would really get along."

Ginny smiled and laughed. The two laid down in silence. "Harry?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Ya, Ginny?"

"I have a question."

"And I have an answer."

"If we're sleeping in the same bed, doesn't that mean we're officially married?"

Harry smiled and laughed. "Of course it does." Ginny giggled and the two cuddled and fell asleep, despite the loud snores from the floor.

GHGHGHG

June 23th, 1991

It had been almost a year since Petunia and Dudley had moved into their new home with the Potters and Sirius. There was a new garden in the backyard that was beginning to grow beautifully, without the help of magic or magical plants. Every morning and every evening, Petunia would spend hours tending to her garden. It gave her the peace that she needed ever since her divorce was finalized with Vernon over six months ago. She had gotten full custody of Dudley except on Christmas, the one day that she had to drop Dudley off at Private drive. Every other day, though, she got up, tended to her garden, went to work at the grocery store, went home, helped Lily with dinner, and went back to her garden. She still maintained a normal schedule regardless of the strange house that she lived in. While she enjoyed her sister's generosity, there was only so much weirdness that she could take.

On the other hand, her son, Dudley, had become joined to the hip with Harry. They were constantly over at the Weasleys and whenever they weren't, the two youngest Weasleys would be at their house. Slowly but surely, she was growing an attachment to these two. The young blonde that they hung out with was much stranger than the others, but Petunia didn't complain because she was just glad that Dudley had friends here. The freakiness she just had to look past.

Today though, today was different. Today, it was Dudley's birthday and she smiled as she looked out into the backyard and noticed all five children laughing hysterically.

GHGHGHGHGG

"What did you just say, Luna?" Dudley asked, holding the ball that he was about to throw to Ron for a minute as he looked at her, confused.

"That there are Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in Sweden."

Dudley just looked at her with a confused smile in his eyes and looked back at Ron, throwing the ball back to him. "Don't be ridiculous, Luna." Ron said, replying for Dudley.

"Let it go, Ron. For all you know, they do exist." Harry said, defending his blonde friend's sanity.

Dudley couldn't help himself and let out a chuckle. Unfortunately for the rest of them, the tall, thick giant's chuckle happened to be a contagious one. As soon as he laughed, Ron began laughing. Then Ginny, who was sitting on the grass giggled next to Harry who was next to laugh. And even though she tried not to, Luna began to laugh from where she was sitting next to Ginny. Soon the light laughter became a laughing fit for all of them and Dudley was bent over, unable to control his laughter.

Many minutes later, once the laughter had finally died down, Dudley chucked the ball at Ron. "We should go over to your house, mate."

Harry smiled and stood. "I agree, Birthday Boy. There's not much to do at my house since Sirius is at work."

"So true." Ginny said. "We should sneak into the broom cupboard now that the twins are home!" She winked at Harry who couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hang on, I have to ask my mum first. Luna, want to come with me?"

"Sure, Dudley." Luna said with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to start heading over. I want to see what Gred and Forge are up to!" Ron said as he began to walk to the road.

Now that they were alone, Ginny took Harry's hand and sighed. "Harry," she laid her head against his shoulder, "when do you think Luna and Dudley are going to get together?"

Harry's head shot up. "Wait, what did you just say?" He said in disbelief as his jaw dropped.

"You must be joking, Harry. Isn't it obvious? He looks like he's head over heals for her!" Harry's eyes glazed over as he went through his memories of his two friends together.

"Merlin. You're right." Harry said quietly as Ginny laughed at his slow discovery.

"They're just so obvious. I can't believe you didn't see that." She said with a smile after her laughter had died to a giggle. "Come on, let's head over. You know Petunia said yes and Merlin knows what Fred and George could do to Dudley while he's there without us."

Harry shrugged, "Luna can protect him." He smiled and looked in her chocolate eyes. "Ron's the one I'm worried about." He said as he sprinted towards the burrow.

Ginny feigned shock, "Wait for me!"

Meanwhile, there was a woman watching the backs of the two children from the window, thanking God that everything in her life had played out for the better.

HGHGHGHGHG

July 30th, 1991

"Sirius, you said it was supposed to get here today! Everybody else already got their letter because their birthdays were earlier!" Harry said as he jumped up and down grabbing his laughing favorite godfather's shirt as he did so.

"Harry, would you calm down. Dumbledore won't want to bring you your letter and wish you a happy birthday if you're jumping up and down like that."

Harry's face dropped. "But mum, Sirius promised me!"

Lily smiled at looked into the ten-year old's eyes. "Dumbledore promised Sirius that he would be here at noon. It is currently eleven fifty nine. I think you can calm down for one more minute."

Sirius' barking laugh filled the small living room of their home. "Moony, you're going to have to calm him down. He's as excited as James was when Lily said yes to Hogsmede after six years' worth of asking."

Remus Lupin had joined them for the occasion. Although he was usually working whenever he could, he had taken off today because Harry had asked him to. Harry wanted his entire family there, he had said to him. Remus couldn't help but melt when Harry had begged him to come.

"Sirius be quiet you're not helping." Lily said just as the flames in the fireplace began to brighten.

Harry stopped jumping up and down and watched closely as his future headmaster walked out of the fireplace.

"I still don't understand how that works." Dudley said, whispering in his ear.

"It's magic." Harry whispered back in awe, eyeing the letter in Dumbledore's hand.

"Lily, Sirius, Remus! How nice to see you. Petunia, Dudley." He greeted the two muggles just as warmly as he had the wizards, even if Petunia had gripped Dudley's hand and pulled him towards her.

Harry's eyes followed the letter patiently as the older man greeted the adults in the room. Finally, Harry gripped his mum's hand as Dumbledore approached him. "Ah, young Harry. Has anyone ever told you how much you look like your father?" Remus and Sirius gave each other a knowing look as Lily watched the interaction between her husband's mentor and her son. "It's truly remarkable. And the way you've kept your eye on this letter since I walked in, I would dare to say that you may act a little bit like him too." Dumbledore leaned down to whisper in Harry's ear, "Between you and I, you may want to keep some distance between yourself and the potions professor, Mr. Snape." The old man chuckled. "Now I won't make you wait any longer, here you go, Harry." He said as he handed the boy the letter. Harry's hands trembled as he looked up at his mum. She nodded her head in approval and he gently took the letter from Dumbledore.

Dudley came up behind him to look over his shoulder, curious as to what the letter would say. With shaking but gentle hands, he read the address:

_Harry Potter_

_The Living Room_

_17 Market Road_

_Ottery St. Catchpole _

_Devon_

He turned the letter over and fingered the red wax seal on the back slowly.

"Would you get on with it already? I want to see what it says!"

"Dudley!" Petunia said from behind as the rest of the adults began to laugh. Harry's face turned red as he quickly went past the seal and pulled the letter out of it's envelope and opened it up.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Harry Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We awat your owl by no later than 31 July.

Sincerely,

_Minerva McGonagall_

Deputy Headmistress

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and where to find them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Wuentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, and owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

"Wow." Harry said.

"Wait, you actually have to wear a pointy hat at this place?" Dudley said in confusion as the adults wizards laughed.

"Well, lately McGonagall has been much lighter in her insistence on the students wearing them. The only time they're truly necessary is at dinners."

"Wait, really? I always hated what that hat did to my hair. Kids these days, they don't know how good they have it." Sirius said to Dumbledore who promptly chuckled.

"Your hair? What about mine! I could never smooth it down the right way afterwards!" Lily said with a laugh.

Remus bent down to Harry's height and whispered in his ear as Dudley leaned in to try to overhear what he was saying. "Between you and me, little prongs, your father loved it when she took her hat off. He said it made her look even more perfect. And not to mention that Sirius loved the way his hair looked as if he'd just been on his broom." Harry and Dudley laughed hard. Lily and Sirius' laughs diminished quickly while Dumbledore's eyes sparkled even more than they usually do. Petunia remained in the back of the room, watching the scene in front of her unfold.

"I think I'll take my leave then. Harry, make sure you buy only what's on the list. Brooms, no matter how much Sirius tries to persuay you, are off limits and I will have to confiscate one if you bring one." Dumbledore said with a wink as he walked towards the fireplace. "Oh, and Lily, I'd like to meet with you soon, if that's possible. If you could visit me at my office any time this week I would be quite pleased. Enjoy your time in Diagon Alley." The mentor said as he threw the green powder into the fireplace and was gone.

"I will never understand that man." Petunia said after a moment of silence. "Lil, what do you think he wants with you?"

"I have no idea Tuney, I have no idea."

The questioning silence of the room ended with a heavy but swift knock on the door. "Come in." Lily said as the group turned their attention to the door which quickly opened. In came a heard of red headed children, all eager to see Harry's letter.

"Right on time, guys." Dudley said. "The old creepy dude just left."

"What did he say?"

"The headmaster actually delivered it by hand?"

"Were there any,"

"Surprises that came along?"

"Do you get to take a broom with you?"

Harry was shocked to see Percy with them, but glad that he cared enough to come. There was a good chance though that he simply didn't believe the twins when they said Dumbledore was hand-delivering his letter for him.

"Sorry we're so late," Ginny said, finally speaking up as the rest of her older brothers had already bombarded him. "The twins were arguing with Percy over whether Dumbledore would actually show up to deliver the letter or not. Percy kept saying that the man would have much better things to do until Mum finally kicked us out of the house." She said with a giggle and a sigh. "You may want to tell them about it before they all explode."

Harry's eyes brightened as he turned to the readhead sea and began to recant his story.

Remus sighed as he watched the group of children captured in Harry's story telling abilities. "When did he get so old, Padfoot?"

"I don't know, Moony. It feels like just yesterday we were on our way to the hospital to see the little bugger for the first time."

Remus looked down at his feet and at Lily, who was now talking to Petunia. "Remember how proud James was?"

Sirius gave out a bark of a laugh. "Oh yes, he sent us at least six patrunuses. The first was that she'd had the kid, the second was that he was all normal, and then the other four were him telling us things the kid had already done. Like wiggle his toes and blink. He was enraptured by the kid." Sirius said, his eyes playing the memory.

"Dud, you can't be serious." The twins said as they looked at the muggle.

"Harry's really famous,"

"In our world. Very famous."

Dudley looked at his cousin sizing him up. "But there's nothing special about him except for that weird scar on his face."

Charlie began to roar in laughter as the rest of the kids began to join in an awkward laugh, including Harry himself. Fred and George simply continued to stare at the boy in disbelief as the rest of the family stared at the laughing kids in confusion.

Fred and George looked at each other and smiled.

"You know what happens now, brother." Fred said with a smirk.

"Should we warn him?" George said quietly, their conversation masked with the laughter of their friends and siblings.

"Oh no, he'll figure it out himself. If he's smart enough." Fred said, a matching smile playing on the matching boys' faces.

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I only have one or two more chapters maximum of "Before Hogwarts" soon the chapters will be reading "Year One"! I'm so excited to finally get into the story!<p>

Please Review! I really appreciate feedback!


	13. Before Hogwarts: It's a Big Year

Sorry it's a few hundred words shorter than my usual length but I GOT THIS CHAPTER DONE WITHIN A WEEK! I feel like it's a major accomplishment.

Hem hem... i hate to go into Umbitch mode *excuse the language please* but i only got one review. I understand that i failed on the job to get that last chapter out in a reasonable amount of time, but seriously? I still worked hard on it. And i find it hard to believe that out of ninety followers to this story now (woot woot hopefully this chap will help me reach 100!) that only Spiralling-Down had enough time to review. Thank you so much by the way you really made my day. Now im not one of those people who will hold my story back due to a lack of reviews, and i get that i only updated like two days ago and some people probably still havent checked their emails since it's spring break, but i'd really appreciate the feedback so that i know where to take the story next. It really helps guys. And some of you have to be authors who are reading this story and know what i mean so please do me the courtesy of taking five seconds to review.

Now that i'm out of Umbitch mode *excuse the language again* and i'm done lecturing, please enjoy the chapter! And have a happy Easter!

BTW this hasn't been Beta'd, if there are any obvious errors please PM me so that i can fix them :D

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter, but I don't.

* * *

><p>July 31st, 1991<p>

Lily walked in to Harry's room quietly and sat down on Harry's bed. After shaking him gently with her hand, she began to sing, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Harry,"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! CHA CHA CHA!" Sirius screamed at his godchild from behind her.

"Sirius would you just be quieter for once!" Lily said back to him, forgetting her own volume.

"Happy birthday to you two too." Harry said, rubbing his eyes and giving the two adults a tired smile.

"I'm sorry about that Harry. Why don't you head downstairs? Petunia made French toast. Get going before Dudley eats it all." Harry laughed and tossed his covers off, racing towards the kitchen.

"This is going to be a long day." Lily said to the man standing next to her.

"Ya, but hopefully Harry will appreciate it.

Harry reached the bottom of the stairs and greeted his aunt and cousin warmly. His aunt responded with a warm "Happy Birthday" while his cousin just looked up at him while he was eating.

After grabbing the plate that Petunia had prepared for him, he looked outside to his backyard. "Wow it looks amazing out there!" Harry said, glimpsing at the back yard.

"Your mother and godfather have been working on it all morning. I would hope that it would look fantastic!"

In the back yard, there were two tents set up next to the garden. Tables were set underneath the tents and a buffet table was ready to hold the food that would soon be placed there. Another table away from the tents had been set up for presents and a piñata was hanging from a tree. Brooms were piled up, ready to take them to the skies. Lily had placed a charm in the skies to prevent the muggles in the neighborhood from noticing them. The yellow and red roses completed the Gryffindor theme.

"It's amazing."

"Why thank you, thank you." Sirius said as he grabbed a plate of French toast and sat down next to his godson. "It's much appreciated."

"Calm your pants down Sirius, now Harry your mother has put a lot into this party and it starts at one so make sure there's nothing else she needs you to do and start getting ready."

Harry looked up at his aunt with a questioning face. "What time is it now?"

"It's already eleven thirty. She let you sleep in."

Harry's eyes bulged as he began to eat his food faster. "I've neber slebt in 'till 'leven turty!"

"Harry Potter!" Lily Potter said sternly from the kitchen. "Swallow and then talk. Do not talk with your mouth full."

"Disgusting." Petunia muttered from across the table.

"Good job, 'arry." Sirius said, smiling with chewed food stuck between his teeth.

Harry looked at his mother guiltily and made a point of swallowing. "Mum, can I go upstairs now."

"Of course." She said to her son with a smile as she watched him scamper up the stairs.

"Me too, mum?" Dudley said from next to him.

"Sure, and don't forget to shower before you put your clothes on. Your aunt has put a nice party together and I don't want you to be smelly and ruin it."

Dudley's face turned red as he quietly mumbled a response and walked up the stairs.

Meanwhile, in Harry's room, Harry noticed a familiar owl waiting for him.

_Dear Harry,_

_ Happy Birthday! You're finally eleven. Nice to know you've caught up with me. It's nice to know that you got your letter finally. I thought you were never going to get it. We'll have to find a way to meet in Diagon Ally. I think we're going on the ninth of August. Try to see if your family wants to go that day although I suppose you'll be going with the Weasleys so you won't have much control of the day. Anyway, Happy Birthday. I sent you a gift card for Fortescues. Sorry, it's not much but it's all I had that I could give you. My father has been more restrictive of my mother lately so I haven't been able to go many places but I begged him to let me get ice cream and well, my mother thinks she got it for Crabbe. What she doesn't know can't hurt her, ey? _

_ I hope your birthday is wonderful and reply as soon as you can with what time you're going to Diagon Alley and I'll see if I can get my family to change the day. If I can't see you, we'll be at Hogwarts soon! Free at last!_

_ Draco Malfoy_

Harry smiled as he put the letter in his drawer and the gift certificate in his wallet. Ginny and Ron had promised to arrive at twelve thirty, so he would get ready first and see if he had time later to respond. He quickly got dressed, putting on his Puddlemere United t-shirt to anger Ron and a pair of muggle jeans. Looking at the time, he realized that it was only twelve and that he still had some time left. He turned to his desk and pulled out a clean piece of parchment, a quill, and ink.

_Dear Draco,_

_ Thanks so much for the gift certificate I really appreciate it. I'll take Ron and Ginny while I'm in Diagon alley. I'll talk to my mother later during my birthday party that she's set up about when we're going to Diagon Alley. Dumbledore's coming to my party and some other people from the Order. My mum says that I'm not supposed to say the full name in public. It's Gryffindor themed party, you know. I can't believe Hogwarts is coming up so soon. I just want you to know that regardless of what house you are in, I can't wait to be able to talk to you in person on a regular basis. And you'll finally get to meet Ron. Probably not Dudley, Ginny and Luna but maybe you'll get to at least see them at the station if you look hard enough from the train. _

_ Reply soon,_

_ Harry Potter_

Satisfied with what he'd written, he took the owl that had waited for him and sent the message on it's way.

"So, was he wishing you a happy birthday?" Harry heard from the doorway. Harry looked over and saw Ginny standing in the doorway. "You know this is the beginning of that awkward week and a half when you're two years older than me."

Harry stood and ran his had through his hair.

"Ya it is."

"Anyway I brought you your present. I thought you might want me to give it to you in private."

"What is it?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" She said as she handed him a package from behind her back. It was a thin rectangular package wrapped in newspaper with one picture obviously moving on top that made him smile.

He fingered the tape holding the neatly wrapped package together very slowly, enjoying her impatient attitude. "Hmm, I wonder what it could be?"

"Would you just open it already?" Ginny said with an exasperated giggle.

Harry laughed and ripped the paper off of the package. It was a still picture of them and all their friends on Dudley's birthday. The moment that Dudley had laughed at Luna's silliness and Ron's disbelief had been captured on camera. "How did you get this?" Harry said.

"I had asked your mother for a picture of all of us to give you when Petunia spoke up and said she had a picture of us from Dudley's birthday that she had just gotten made. Sorry it's not moving, but I thought it gave it an individuality that you couldn't have had in a moving picture. Your mother said that she could make it move if she reprinted it, so if you want me to have her change it..."

"No this is perfect, thank you so much, Ginny." He said with a smile as he gave her a hug.

"Harry, the Longbottoms are here!" Harry broke off his hug with Ginny as he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her down the stairs at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Coming, Mum!"

The Potters and the Longbottoms had a long history of being friends. Because of how close Neville's birthday was, they usually only saw each other on Harry's birthday as Neville's grandmother usually wanted to spend it with him alone. On his way to the living room to greet his guests, he stopped in the kitchen to grab the pack of exploding snap cards and chocolate frogs that he had gotten for his friend, Ginny's hand still wrapped up in his.

"Harry!" He heard a more familiar voice yell from the living room. Ron had waited there for him, obviously knowing why Ginny had gone up the stairs. "Harry, Happy Birthday!" Ron said with a smile as he went over to his friend and enveloped him in a hug.

"Thanks Ron. Why don't you and Ginny head out back while I greet guests? You know my mum won't let me leave until they're all here." Harry said with a smile. "I'll help Neville escape as soon as I can too." He whispered into his friend's ear, which turned his friend's frown upside down. (**Sorry the phrase is so cheesy**)

"See you back there, mate." Ron said as he grabbed Ginny's empty hand and they went out back.

"Hello, Harry." Agusta Longbottom said as he turned to her. "I hope you're having a wonderful birthday so far."

"Thank you, Ma'am. My day has been amazing so far. I received my Hogwarts letter yesterday."

"Really? That's awesome. I got mine yesterday too." Neville said from behind his grandmother.

"Neville! How are you?" Harry said as he gave his friend a hug.

"I'm good, mate. Where's the crew?"

"Outside. I think they may be waiting for you. Mrs. Longbottom, do you mind if Neville meets my friends outside?"

"As long as you're careful, Neville. You have sun balm on, yes?"

"Yes, grandma. You watched me put it on." Neville said, wringing his hands in embarrassment.

"I just don't want you to get burned like you did last year. I don't want to listen to you whine about it." She said, wagging her finger.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't get a sun burn. Can I go now?"

"Fine. Go." Mrs. Longbottom said, shooing her grandson out the back door.

The doorbell rang and Lily went to answer the door as Agusta Longbottom made a beeline to Sirius to have a 'serious conversation about the length of his hair'. Harry chuckled and turned to the door again.

"Molly! Thank God you're here, I already need help. Can you do me a major favor and save Sirius from Agusta before she offends him too badly?"

Molly looked at the scene unfolding and handed the platter of food she had brought with her to Lily. "Of course I can, as long as he promises not to help my boys prank the entirety of civilization."

Lily laughed and guided Molly and her children towards Harry. "I'll say Happy Birthday quickly so that I can go save your godfather from too bad of a lecture, although whatever it's about I'm sure he deserves it." Molly said with a tut as she walked over to Agusta with a smile and greeted the old woman.

"Harry! You're finally eleven!"

"We can't believe that you made it this far."

"Especially after all Ginny and Ron have put you through."

"It's quite amazing, really."

"Would you two settle down and give him some breathing room?" Bill said from behind the twins who had immediately bombarded Harry. "Happy birthday, Harry. It's a big year." He said with a hug.

"Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" Charlie said from behind him.

"Ya, but it's so unfortunate that first years can't fly."

"I know it's annoying but if you stick with it I'm sure you'll make it your second year."

"Of course he will. He deserves it." Percy said from behind him. "On another note, I've made Prefect so you'll have someone to go to if you had questions."

"Perce, we all knew you would make prefect, now stop flaunting it." Bill said.

Harry had of course known that Percy would be a prefect since the first of July, when he got his badge in the mail.

The doorbell rang again and as his mother made a move for the door, Harry told the Weasleys that their younger siblings were in the backyard.

"Hagrid! How wonderful to see you! I'm glad you got the invitation! And Dumbledore, wonderful to see you as always. The party will be in the back yard."

""Ello, Lily. How 're ya? I brought rock cakes with me for the spread in the back." Hagrid said as he handed her a platter wrapped in cloth.

"How thoughtful of you, Hagrid." Lily said as Dumbledore winked at her and she went to the kitchen to tell Petunia to try to make them edible somehow.

"'Arry! Happy Birthday!" Hagrid said as he gave Harry a hug, lifting him up as he did so.

"Can't breathe." Harry said, wheezing and gasping for air.

"Oh, sorry, 'Arry. I got really excited." Hagrid said, putting down the eleven-year-old boy.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Harry said, smiling up at him.

"Where can I put your present?" He said, gesturing to a large package in his right hand.

"There's a table in the back yard. Hello, Dumbledore." Harry said as the giant moved out of the way so that he could see the smaller, older man that would some day become his mentor.

"Hello, Harry. I see that many of your friends have already arrived."

"Yes, sir, they have."

"And you're stuck greeting all us old people?" Dumbledore said, the mirth showing in his eyes.

"Well, it's not that bad. And it's nice to see everyone since I haven't seen most of the people coming in a very long time."

"Ah, yes, many of the people coming your mother and godfather know from a very dark period of time in our history."

"Yes, they were all in the Order. Mum says that I'm not allowed to say the whole name in public."

"That may very well be a good idea. Regardless, happy birthday, Harry, and enjoy greeting guests."

"Thank you, sir." He said as he watched the old man walk to the back yard.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

_Dear Draco,_

_ My party was wonderful and no, I wasn't kidding about the fact that Dumbledore was coming to my party. And no, I wasn't kidding about the Gryffindor theme either and yes it would be very awkward if I didn't get into Gryffindor. What did I get? Well, Ginny got me a picture of all of my friends. It's a muggle picture, so it doesn't move but Ginny says it makes it more individual that way and I can't help but agree with her. Sirius got me a nimbus 2000, although I'm not allowed to take it to school. Remus gave me _Hogwarts, A History _and said that I should study it before I go, Hagrid (the grounds keeper at Hogwarts) got me a snowy owl which I named Hedgwig. I picked it out of my _Hogwarts, A History _book by randomly paging through it and picking a name from the page I landed on. It was quite efficient, really. I got flying gloves from McGonagall, only to be used during and after my first flying lesson. I got a gift card to Madam Malkins from Kingsley (he says a wizard does best when he's dressed his best. For some reason, this made my mum laugh). Ron got me a broom servicing kit who obviously had talked to Sirius before hand, Fred and George got me a box of pranks from Zonkos, the rest of the Weasleys got me more parchment and quills so that I could write home, Andromada and Ted gave me ten galleons, and Tonks got me a stuffed bear that changes colors upon the will of the holder. Dumbledore's present was strange. He got me a pair of wooly socks and a black pointy hat, presumably because we joked about the hat yesterday but the socks still don't make sense to me. They are quite comfortable, though._

_ I can't wait until a year when you can come to my birthday party. Hopefully, that will be next year if your father allows it. My mother is leaving the decision to go to Diagon alley up to the Weasleys since there are more of them and they have to help Charlie and Bill leave the house as Charlie is going to Romania for a one year internship on a dragon reservation and Bill got a job with Gringots and will be traveling around the word for a while until he has a high enough job to remain in the Gringots in Britain. _

_ Unfortunately, I do not believe that we will meet in Diagon Alley. But you've already said that your father will be getting you to the train station at least fifteen minutes before the train leaves. If you get a compartment in the back, I will join you. I can guarantee that the Weasleys will run late. Someone is always forgetting something in that family. _

_ Until then,_

_ Harry_

Draco looked up from the letter. He couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed at not getting to see his friend at Diagon Alley, but was happy that his friend had a wonderful birthday.

"Dobby." He called his house elf.

He heard the loud pop that always annoyed him to no end. "Yes, master Draco."

"Will you do me a favor and get me some more parchment? I seem to have run out again."

"Do you want me to refrain from telling master again?"

Draco smiled at the energetic house elf. "Yes, Dobby, that would be wonderful. Please, refrain from telling my father of this next order of parchment. You may have to deliver it to Hogwarts at this rate."

"Yes master."

An out of sight certain Malfoy matriarch smiled from the doorway as she watched their tiny house elf disappear. All she could think was how glad she was that her son had a true friend, more than she herself could ever have asked for.

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><p>Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! PLEASE REVIEW! (Thanks again, Spiralling-Down!)<p> 


	14. Before Hogwarts: An Alley and Mirrors

One week later! Look at how prompt I was :D who's proud? Thanks for everyone who reviewed! I really appreciated it!

The section that is italicized and has these marks *** at the beginning and end of it is from the book, The Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling and I don't own it, as i've made obvious in the chapter itself.

Now here's the next chapter, i really hope you enjoy it. it's my longest chapter ever! Longer than when they went to Godric's Hollow! I hope you enjoy and please review so that i know if you liked it! This hasn't been beta'd so if there are any errors please pm me so that i can fix them. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

I don't own Harry Potter. No really, ask JK Rowling - i really don't!

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><p>Two days later<p>

"Lily, I'm so glad you came. Care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered as he watched the red-headed woman walk out of the fireplace in his office.

"So am I, Albus. Not to be rude, but I've left Petunia all alone with Daisy to cook dinner for Harry, Dudley, the Weasleys, Sirius, and Remus and she's quite uncomfortable with house elves which is why we usually refrain from using our three. Do you mind cutting to the chase and telling me why you have invited me to your office on this lovely summer day?" She said with an exasperated smile.

Dumbledore chuckled as he put down the bowl of yellow candies. "I might as well. I apologize for doing this on such short notice, but ever since I saw Harry again, I wanted to know exactly what happened after you were thrown against the wall that night almost ten years ago now. I know that you can't remember all of that night, but would you mind if I used ligilimency to attempt to see what happened that night?"

Lily stared at the old man for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "Well, sir, I'm not sure exactly where to start. Why now?"

Dumbledore sighed as he turned to pet his phoenix, Fawkes. "I've heard rumors from some of my sources that he's made an attempt to obtain the sorcerer's stone. Now I've talked to Nicolas Flamel and he has agreed to hide the stone at Hogwarts to assure it's safety, but I can't be sure that he won't get the stone." Facing her, he looked directly into her eyes. "I don't want to cause you pain, Lily, but I fully believe that something happened that night. Something that may hold the key to Voldemort's true defeat. James' love sacrifice still remains my hypothesis of yours and Harry's survival and Voldemort's death, but I believe as well that Voldemort came to your house for another magical reason although I have yet to find out what that reason is. Your memory may be able to aid me, Lily." Dumbeldore said to Lily, walking over to her. "I don't want to cause you pain, and you can say no. Especially since I wont be the only one watching your memory, you'll be able to see it too but only if you want to. There is also a possibility that I will not be able to reach the memory." Dumbledore became quiet, waiting for her response.

Lily thought back to the turbulent day in her life, the day that changed everything about her as she looked down at her hands. She didn't want another reminder of that moment in her life again but if she wanted to help her son.

"Alright, what do I have to do." She said, searching for her Gryffindor courage.

"Just look me in the eyes…"

Lily stared at the Professors eyes and for once, there was no gentle sparkle in them at all.

_"Harry, don't cry. Be strong. Mummy loves you. Daddy loves you. Be strong, Harry." She whispered to him softly and began humming the tune of "Hush Little Baby", the lullaby her mother always hummed around the house when she was a child, in an attempt to quiet him. The door was fully opened now and Voldemort's eyes stared at her. A smirk grew as he pointed his wand at her and said, "Move, girl!" Lily shook her head furiously, unable to move away or respond to Voldemort. "__Reducto!__"_

_Lily was flung across the room, her head had been hit hard... but was she bleeding? She stopped thinking of herself though as Voldemort raised his wand to her son. She struggled to get up but she suddenly found herself extremely dizzy. Since she'd moved her head away from the wall, she felt a warm liquid trickling down the back of her neck. The blood barely registered as she tried crawling to her son while Voldemort said the words, "__AVADA KEDAVRA__!" and a green light reached her son. She screamed as the light seemed to rebound off of her wailing son and hit Voldemort. Voldemort disappeared and suddenly his cloaks fell to the floor, empty. A small opaque clump of air hit her son as a larger ball of opaque air flew out of the window. Lily attempted to stand but found herself unable to get up. She remembered that her wand was in her bedroom. She cried silently as she did her best to re-start the song she'd been humming in order to stop Harry's cry and calm herself. Aware that she was too weak to get up, she knew that she needed to stay awake. She could hear Harry's cries and that gave her the need to live._

Lily gasped as she shut her eyes tight, pushing Dumbledore out of her mind by doing so. "That was quite interesting, Lily." Dumbledore said after giving the woman a moment to collect her thoughts. "I'm very sorry for having to put you through that again but I just gained some valuable information that I will have to analyze. As soon as I fully understand it, I will contact you." Dumbledore said. Lily was still standing at the other side of his desk, completely quiet. "I'm sorry you had to see that again Lily, I truly am. While there's not much I can say to comfort you, having seen it I can assure you that you are one of the bravest people that I know and not many people could have emotionally survived that moment. You should be very proud of yourself. May I ask from where you lost your memory?"

Lily blinked again, still not being able to believe what she hadn't remembered. "Voldemort. I remember him throwing me back against the wall but I couldn't hear what spell he had used. He must have aimed incorrectly or something because that reducto should have split me open not thrown me against the wall. And Harry, oh Harry." A tear gently poured out of her green eye. "I hadn't remembered the spell hitting him." She said quietly.

"I am dreadfully sorry to have brought this memory to your attention, but it was all I could do to get the information about that night that I needed and I appreciate you going through the pain once more for me. Are there any other questions you have for me?"

Only one question was still bothering her. "If you think Voldemort is coming back, is the prophecy still in tact? I know that you always thought he may return, but now that it may become a reality…"

Dumbledore sighed as he let his former student end her own thought. Fingering the Diluminator on his desk, he looked her in the eyes. "Lily, I firmly believe that the prophecy, although your son was chosen that night, still continues to day. I will leave you the option of who shall inform your son of the prophecy and when, but I will say one thing. Your son's innocence may disappear on that day. I don't know how early I would tell him."

HGHGHGHGHG

August 8th, 1991

"Come on, Mum!" Harry said, dragging his mother through the street of Diagon Alley. They had just made it through the Leaky Cauldron's entrance though the bricks and Harry was eager to meet the Weasleys at Fortescues like they had agreed. "I want to get there so that we have as much time in the Quidditch supply store as possible!"

"Padfoot, I blame you on this one." Remus said from behind the mother and child, walking next to his best friend and a slightly chubby Dudley Dursley.

"Sorry, but I think he would be excited for the Quidditch supply store regardless. He's quite the natural."

"Sirius don't you dare even bring that up. I'm still very mad at you for that." Lily said to her son's Godfather who had let her son fly his Nimbus 2000 alone the day after he'd gotten it.

She heard the dog's barking laugh from behind her and sighed. "Harry, we will get there regardless and I promise you will have at least thirty minutes in the Quidditch supply story no matter what. Will you please stop tearing my arm out of it's socket now?"

"Sorry, Mum." Harry said, slowing down to his mother's preferred pace even if he didn't want to slow down as Dudley snorted next to him.

"Look, we're passing Madam Malkins now, it doesn't seem to have much of a line like it usually does, and we really aren't supposed to meet the Weasleys for another twenty minutes. So, why don't we stop here first." Remus said, ruining Harry's plan.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Remus." Lily said with a smile. "Harry you know the Weasleys will be late too and Madam Malkin should be done in around fifteen minutes so I think it's a perfect plan." Lily said to a pouting Harry.

Sirius barked a laugh from behind the pair. "Lily, he's not going to be happy with the plan regardless. Kid, if you listen to your Mum now, I promise to buy you those treats you wanted to get for Hedwig. Sound alright?"

Harry's face brightened up. "She'd love that!" He said, having grown quite an attachment to his new pet. "Thanks, Sirius!" Harry turned to his Mum. "Alright, I guess it wouldn't be that bad since we aren't supposed to meet them until a little later any way."

"Wonderful." Lily said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Let's go!"

When they entered the door, Sirius said he would go to the Owl Emporium to pick the treats up. Remus and Dudley decided to go with him.

_***Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve._

_"__Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."***_

"Maybe you can make a friend," Lily said with a smile and a push on her son's back. "Now if you need me, I'll be in the front of the store picking out a new set of dress robes for you. If I remember correctly, you grew out of your last pair almost a year ago. Listen to Madam Malkin, okay?" Harry nodded quietly and turned to the back of the shop, which was where Madam Malkin was pointing.

_***In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length._

_"__Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?***_

Although he couldn't see the boy completely because of the placement of the robe over his face, he knew that voice. "Yes, but are you Draco Malfoy?" Harry said quietly, unsure of his recognition as he'd only actually met the boy once.

"Excuse me, but how do you know my na-" Draco said until the robe was correctly sitting on Harry's body and no longer covering his face. "Harry! Harry, it's nice to see you!" He said in a drone of a voice, looking nervously between Madam Malkin and the door. Harry of course already knew that Draco was worried that Madam Malkin would figure out that they knew each other or that one of his parental figures would walk though the door. Harry personally thought the boy was paranoid.

"And you as well, Draco. Here for your Hogwarts robes?" Harry said, trying to keep his cool even though he was more excited than when Ginny had given him his present.

Madam Malkin accidentally poked Harry's leg and he winced. "Yes, I am. My father also wants to get me a new pair of dress robes but he's leaving me to pick them out."

"How nice. My mother is in the back picking out mine." Harry said as Madam Malkin was pulled aside by Harry's mother who had, unknown to them, been monitoring the entire situation.

"Harry, this is crazy! My mother changed the date on my father because of a new book coming out!" Draco whispered with a smile.

"This isn't crazy! It's insane! It's so nice to finally get to talk to you in person after all these years of letters and presents!" He excitedly whispered back.

"So, what house do you think you will be in?" Draco said, straightening up. Harry originally looked at him confused but felt Madam Malkin return to his other leg, realizing why Draco returned to his posh state.

"Well, I'm hoping to either get into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor." Harry said, watching Draco roll his eyes at the mention of Ravenclaw. With a pout, Harry added, "How about you?"

"Well, Slytherin of course. Although as long as I'm not in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff I suppose I'll be happy." Draco said with a wink.

"Harry, I'm all done here. Your mother has picked out a new set of dress robes for you. All right, Draco, let's get back you. You're father really needs to stop being so specific on how to do your measurements…" Madam Malkin said as Draco rolled his eyes at Harry with a smile and slight wave.

"Well, see you at Hogwarts then, Draco."

"You too, Harry."

GHGHGHG

"Ginny, guess who I saw at Madam Malkin's." Harry said to Ginny, finally getting a second to pull her aside. They had been shopping for two hours and Harry's mother, Padfoot, and Moony had agreed to find the rest of his supplies and let him and Dudley wait at Fortinescues with Ron and Ginny. As soon as they had gotten there, Harry got out his gift card from Draco and dragged Ginny to order them all ice cream as Dudley and Ron got them a table.

"I can tell you've been wanting to tell me something. Um, how about Neville?"

"Nope," Harry said with an excited smile as he ordered the ice cream and handed over the gift certificate. "Draco Malfoy, actually."  
>Ginny beamed at her best friend. "That's amazing, Harry! I bet it was nice to finally talk to him in person!"<p>

"It really was amazing. I had no idea I was going to see him there either as our attempt to coordinate our Diagon Alley trips had originally failed." Harry said, his smile wider than Ginny had ever seen it.

"Here's your ice cream, kids." The guy behind the counter said, giving each kid two ice creams.

"How are you going to tell Ron?" Ginny said.

Harry sighed. "In all honesty, I probably won't. I'll just let him think that the three of us are making a friendship together because Ron's already going to have issues trusting him since he's a Malfoy and I can't help but feel as if he's going to feel slightly jealous."

Ginny sighed. "Alright, I'll leave it up to you then, but if I were you I would rather tell him now. Eventually he's going to find out Harry, and I would rather it be from you."

Harry sighed and smiled as he came up to Ron and Dudley and handed them their ice cream as he started a conversation about the Quidditch posters they had seen at the Quidditch store.

GHGHGHG

August 31st, 1991

Ginny lay on Harry's bed, playing with the quaffle out of his Father's Quidditch set.

"Ok, does that sound like everything?" Harry said, searching the rest of his room, making sure there was nothing else he wanted to pack.

"It sounds like you have everything to me. You need to calm yourself down. If you honestly forgot anything, we can owl it to you." Se said with a laugh as Harry grabbed his Father's snitch and lay down next to her.

"How's Dudley taking you leaving?"

"Well, on one hand, he's really excited for me but I can tell he's upset at the same time. He's made me promise to write to him. At the same time though, that makes me sad because he really needs to work on his reading and writing skills. My aunt says he has Dyslexia which means that he has issues keeping the letters right in his head."

"That's really unfortunate." Ginny said. Quiet filled the room as Harry's unasked question played out in her head.

Finally he got the courage to ask, "How about you, Ginny? Are you okay? Will you write to me every day? I'm really going to miss you."

Ginny turned her head to Harry, the Quaffle becoming still in her lap. "Well, of course I'm upset. But I know that I'm joining you next year, so at least I have that to comfort me. And I'll-" Ginny was cut off by a popping noise right by the door.

Harry and Ginny sat up to see Harry's favorite house elf at the base of his bed. "Daisy's sorry to interrupt, Master Harry, but Madam Lily asked me to come here and make certain that you are packed."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, Daisy. How has Hogwarts been?" Harry asked, knowing that when their house elves were not here and helping them, which they only did on a rare occasion, they were at Hogwarts helping out the Hogwarts staff however they could.

The house elf continued to search Harry's trunk as she answered Harry's question. "It has been wonderful, Master Harry. It will be nice once you are there. I will know that at least some of the food I am making will be going to you."

Harry giggled along with Ginny. "Alright, Master Harry, you seem to have packed well. I am going to report back to Madam Lily now." Daisy said with a pop.

Ginny sighed. "I understand the point of house elves and everything, but I don't think they will ever cease to make me laugh."

After a few more minutes of mundane conversation, Harry heard a knock on the door. "Come in." Harry said as he released the snitch again, catching it again after the door had opened and he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Harry, you have no idea how much you just reminded me of your father." Remus said, his hand over his heart and a slight smile on his face.

"Remus!" Harry said, running to his uncle and giving him a hug.

"It feels nice to be noticed." Sirius said, pouting behind him.

"Sirius! I'm glad you're here too, although I live with you." Harry said with a giggle.

"Ginny, I'm glad to see you here. Where's Ron? Isn't he usually here?"

Ginny giggled as she hopped off the bed, the quaffle tucked under her arm. "He usually is, but it's just me tonight because my entire house is chaos because only Percy decided to pack before hand."

"It must be a little easier with Charlie and Bill gone though."

Ginny sighed. "Not really, Bill and Charlie were the ones who used to keep the twins together."

Sirius sat on the foot of the bed. "Are you sleeping over tonight, then?"

Ginny returned to her spot on the bed after giving Remus a hug. "No, I've got to go home later. I'm going to use the floo though since my mother doesn't want me walking in the dark."

"Sounds like a plan, little lady. I'm actually glad you're here at the moment though, because we have something to talk to you and Harry about." Sirius said as he patted a spot next to him for Remus to sit down. Harry followed the other three and laid down where he had been laying down before.

"What's up?" Harry said, wondering what they could want to tell him that they hadn't already told him.

"Well, Harry, as you already know, when we were at Hogwarts, our small group of friends was called –"

"The Mauraders and you consisted of my father, you, Padfoot, and Peter Pettigrew. What about it?"

"Well, before you went to Hogwarts we decided to tell you why our friend group was so close besides the pranks that we played." Sirius said, glad that Harry knew so much of their past already.

Ginny sat quietly, wondering why she was being included in this conversation.

"Okay." Harry said, confused as to what else his uncles could say.

"Harry, I'm a werewolf." Remus said quietly, playing with the bedspread.

"So?" Harry and Ginny said to the quiet man.

"What?"

"Well, you've been my uncle my entire life. You've been nice to me and you've cared for me. You were there when I opened my Hogwarts letter. My mom explained to me when I was younger that werewolves are only wolfs during the full moon and they can be very good people the other twenty-nine or thirty days of the month."

"I was there for that, the way Aunt Lily put it was simply that most werewolves can be trusted and we shouldn't judge people." Ginny said, looking Remus in the eyes.

Sirius patted his best friend on the back. "I told you, buddy. Now here's the real test. When your father, Pettigrew, and I found out that our friend here was the thing making noises in the night, we decided to help him out by becoming animagi and spending every full moon with him."

Harry's jaw dropped as Ginny looked at him with a confused look. "Mum told me what that is! You can turn into an animal? That's so cool! What are you? When did you turn into one? What was Dad?" Harry bombarded Sirius with questions as Sirius gave a barking laugh.

"Wait. Does the Ministry know that you're an animagi?"

"Well, not exactly. And Ginny, you can't tell your mother. I'm a black dog and your father was a stag."

Harry grinned at his Godfather. "Have you ever changed for me before? Because I vaguely remember a black dog but I never brought it up because it was before we moved here."

"You used to take turns riding on mine and James' backs around the house." Sirius said, remembering a happier time.

"Wait, is that where your names come from? Moony would be for the werewolf, Padfoot for the dog, and Prongs for the antlers on the stag, but what about Peter? You never give him a name when you talk about him."

"That's because when he betrayed Lily and James, he was a Marauder no longer. Therefore we don't use his name, although it used to be Wormtail. He was a rat. We should have seen it then." Remus said, clutching the bead spread in anger.

"There's nothing you could have known, Remus." Ginny said, comforting her family friend.

"Anyway, Harry, although I know you want me to transform for you, that's not why we are here." Sirius said. "I'm here to tell you to make new friendships, friends that you could have for the rest of your life. My Hogwarts years were by far the best of my life and I want them to be the best of yours too."

"So don't judge people, although we don't think that you will, and always keep an open mind – even if they are Slytherins, don't discriminate." Remus said, pointedly looking at Sirius.

"Hey it was different when we were in school!"

"Sure it was, Padfoot. Watch out for Professor Snape. Always pay attention in his class, take note, and try your hardest. Your father wasn't the nicest to him in school, and he may try to reflect those feelings upon you. And no matter what Sirius tries to tell you, don't prank the man. That will only make matters worse."

Harry laughed. "Alright, Remus. Besides, I don't really prank people. You know that I always leave that up to Fred and George."

For the first time, Harry noticed a bark in both Remus' and Sirius' laughs. "Good idea, Harry, you won't get in trouble that way."

"Oh, and never be serious when you're talking to McGonagall. She may not show it, but secretly she enjoys humor and will appreciate it in the long run. Just don't pass the detention line." Sirius said, joking with Harry. "Now, I want to have a real conversation with you. You know how in many of the stories that I've told you of your father and I's pranks, somehow we always knew what the other person was doing and our timing was always perfectly in sync even if we were on opposite sides of the castle?"

Harry smiled at the stories in his head. "Yes, that's always amazed me. You always said it was a secret, though."

Sirius smiled as he handed Harry a wrapped package that he'd been holding behind his back as Remus quietly left the room. "This was one of our three big secrets in our pranking. The other two have been lost to history, but this one I've had for a while now and have been waiting for the right time to give it to you." Sirius said with a smile. Opening it, Harry confusingly stared at two mirrors. "They aren't just mirrors. Here, give me one." Harry handed his Godfather a mirror. "Now, say my name and look into the mirror."

"Sirius." Harry said, looking into the mirror in amazement as his face disappeared and in it's place was Sirius' grinning one. "This is so cool, Sirius!"

Sirius laughed as he handed the mirror he held back to Harry. "I'm glad you like them because they were a present from James's parents to us and now I'm giving them to you."

Harry put the mirrors down and gave his uncle a hug. "Thanks so much, Sirius."

"No problem, kid. I should mention that you shouldn't give the second mirror to Dudley because it recognizes the person on the other side by reading their magical signature and as he's a muggle…"

"I get it Sirius. That's unfortunate but thanks for the warning before we learned it the hard way." Harry said with a smile.

"Now Ginny, don't stay too late, we have a long day tomorrow. After we drop Harry off, you are coming with us and your parents are having a day home alone. We will explore the muggle portion of London and do a little bit of shopping." Sirius said as he got up and left with a wink towards Ginny.

"Thanks again, Sirius!" Harry said as the doors shut.

"Wow. That was a lot of information." Ginny said.

Harry sighed as he picked up the snitch that he had caught underneath the blankets so that it wouldn't move earlier. "Define a lot." Harry said as he sighed and caught the snitch out of the air again. With his other hand, he picked the top mirror up and handed it to Ginny. Lying down again, he let the snitch go and caught it.

"Harry, why did you just give me this?"

"What do you mean? I gave it to you because I want you to have it. Why else would I give it to you?" He said, nonchalantly. Ginny looked disbelievingly at her friend, one eyebrow up. "Well, you were the first person I thought of. You're my best friend. Then I thought of Dudley because of his reading disorder, but once Sirius told me that he couldn't have it, I knew it belonged with you. Ginny, we can still use it when you're at Hogwarts since you'll be in the girls' dorms. We won't be able to have our late night talks otherwise." Harry said, still playing with the snitch.

Ginny smiled and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Putting it down, she prevented him from releasing the snitch again as she gave him a giant hug.

"I'll miss you so much, Harry."

"I'll miss you too Gin, I'll miss you too."

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><p>It was so long! Sorry about that but at the same time, i'm so proud of myself i've never written anything so long in one sitting! Thanks so much for reading and please review! It's much appreciated!<p> 


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